Fall of Nobility
by Wends
Summary: [AD&D AU] The boys, set by fate and misfortune on yet another fanciful quest, encounter the mysterious son of a Hidden Lord of Waterdeep... [HD, TQ, rated for violence, lemons, language and stuff]
1. Prelude

A/N 1: Yeah, this story's old. But it's still a good one, hence why it's getting posted. Also, having reread it for the first time in three years, I felt motivated to continue with the 'prelude' chapters I'd been slaving over to explain what the boys' lives were like before this little trip through fantasy.

A/N 2: While I utilized the AD&D (yeah, second edition Dungeons and Dragons. I'm one of _those_. Started playing back in the late '80's. (sniff) Shaddup.) system for this tale, the reader needs zero, zip, nada knowledge of the system itself. I just utilized it to roll out battles (Wufei has the freaking luck of the Gods, I swear) and used their monster stats and land layout. It's a pain in the butt creating your own world (holds head, remembering the effort she went through when her players demanded it), and I was being lazy when I wrote this. Bite me. :)

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam Wing or AD&D's plethora of monstrous goodies/landscapes/cities/etc. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

_-BEGIN FIC-_

"Once upon a time upon the Sword Coast existed a city of wonders, a city of magic, the literal City of Splendors. From the spiraling towers of its magnificent castles to its twisted alleys in the Docks, it was permeated with mystery and an aura of beauty. The City of the Dead, the North Ward, the fabled Undermountain were all calling cards of the fabulous Gem of the Sword Coast, which drew everything and everyone from dragons to elves, from thieves to paladins, from the lowliest peasant trading his wares to the infamous Elminster himself. It incurred upon itself the hatred and love of everyone upon this grand continent of the Faerun simply with its unique splendor-"

"Can you get on with the story already, Grandpa?"

Arching a brow, the wrinkled, shriveled little old man glanced down at the boy who huffed at him, his arms crossed over his chest and a look of annoyance written upon his chubby, cherubic face. His bright green eyes narrowed, the child snorted. "You always ramble."

Chuckling, the old man winked, his own emerald eyes twinkling with the light thrown from the torches that lit the boy's room. "Ah, but this is not rambling, child. You know nothing of this city. How are you to know the significance of this story if you don't understand how Waterdeep was back in its days of grandeur?"

"AWWW! Why are you telling a Waterdeep story?"

"What do you mean, why am I telling a Waterdeep story?"

"Come on, Grandpa," the boy sniffed, "we all know about it. It was a big ol' city on the coast that was burned to the ground like back in the days when the Gods wandered the world and Ao used his flint and steel to light up the universe."

Arching a brow, the old man smirked. "So you're saying your grandfather is as ancient as the universe is old?"

"True, isn't it?"

Shaking his head, the old man snorted. "It was only 200 years ago, boy."

Arching a brow, the boy huffed. "Just 'cause you're an elf and've seen everything..."

"Hn." Smiling, the old elf shook his head. "But do you want your story or not?"

Sighing in disappointment, the boy arched a brow. "Is this the only story I'm going to get?"

"Yes, it is."

"Fine, fine. And what's it about?"

"It's about the son of one of the Hidden Lords of Waterdeep that brought the destruction of that glorious city."

"Can you at least make it interesting?"

Shrugging, the elf held out his hand. "Very well."

The boy stared with complete fascination as mist formed around the old elf's fingers, slowly billowing and crystallizing into a ball upon the sheets of the boy's bed. Clarifying, the solid crystal orb sparkled.

"Magic... wow..."

Smirking the elf nodded before snapping his fingers. The ball flickered to life, golden light flaring deep within its center then slowly twisting and coloring to form an image. Both boy and grandfather leaned forward, eyes sparkling as they watched the moving images within.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

The lank figure sighed as he leaned against the panes of glass that made up the eastern wall of his room, staring blankly out into the sprawling world that made up the city beyond.

"I'm bored."

Glancing over his shoulder, his dark eyes focused upon the servant who hovered near the door. "Get me something entertaining, Jeeves."

Bowing, the boy's butler backed out of the room. "As the young Lord wishes."

As the man left the boy returned his gaze to the city, his eyes slowly losing their focus.

"I hate it here."

"City of Splendors, eh? More like Cesspool of Slums, Censor of Slime, Center of Spore... hmph."

Narrowing his dark blue eyes, the boy wrapped his heavy furred cloaks more tightly around his abnormally thin frame.

"Father, I want out."

"Let me out..."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Jeeves sighed as he marched through the city streets, looking for something new to entertain his dismally depressive young Lord with.

As easy as such a job sounded, it was actually more difficult than anyone could possibly imagine. Being the only son of the man commonly known as Vincent Marcus Alexius VonWinner who was in charge of the Traders Guild and who was secretly one of the mystical Hidden Lords of Waterdeep that were charged with keeping the peace and order of the city intact throughout any crisis or obstacle, the young Lord had possession of nearly everything any boy could desire and had seen more exquisite and exotic artifacts and acts than most world-wise mercenary adventurers had ever dreamed of seeing. Thus, finding something new to entertain and amuse him, something different to bring a smile to his thin and pale lips, was one of the biggest challenges any man could be saddled with.

"Something entertaining, hm?" the man grumbled as he marched through the city streets.

Thus far he'd had no luck. And he'd been searching for over an hour.

Hearing cheering down one street alley, he decided to head in the direction of the racket and see what was going on.

What met his eyes fascinated him. A lone acrobat was calmly balancing over 30 plates on the tip of his nose while juggling teacups. Teacups, filled with tea. All while standing on one foot atop an overturned ale mug.

Jeeves joined in with the enthusiastic applause that erupted when the boy alighted from his stand and gave a small bow. Walking amongst the people who approached to drop coins into the acrobat's cap, the servant smiled.

The boy arched a brow even as he tugged a shirt over his previously bare back and tucked it into his breeches, indicating that he had indeed seen the VonWinner servant. Brushing his hair back (only to have it flip back over the left half of his face again moments later, proving the effort given forth by the boy to be utterly futile), the acrobat nodded. "What do you want?"

"You."

Both eyebrows arched, even though this action was barely discernable through that thick waterfall of hair. "Whatever for? You don't appear to be one of the City Guards. I don't believe I need to prove my validity and my permits to you to continue performing here."

Holding up a hand, Jeeves shook his head. "Hold, boy. I mean that I wish to offer you a proposition, not to discipline you in any fashion."

"Proposition?"

"Perform for the Household I work for tonight and the Lord will pay you handsomely."

"Indeed," the boy said, crossing his arms. "Sorry, but I don't go for private performances."

"Will 200 gold pieces to start be sufficient?"

The boy stared at the offered bag. "Sure thing. When do you want me there?"

"Sundown tonight. And your name...? To tell the guards to allow you onto the property..."

"Trowa."

_tbc..._


	2. Chapter I

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

_-BEGIN FIC-_

The acrobat stared at his surroundings, his emerald eyes wide with appreciation and what could only be called envy. He'd never seen so much wealth in his life.

He was in the gathering room of the magnificent household, seated upon a thickly cushioned couch crafted of the most supple leather he'd ever felt, leaning into a sea of plush feather pillows. The entire room was draped with thick tapestries woven with dark, rich colors depicting great dragons, unicorns and other fanciful creatures highlighted by golden and silver threads. The furniture that permeated the chamber complimented the colors that hung upon the walls, also being those dark and enticing reds, greens and browns. Thick carpeting, something most rare in this day and age where most households had dirt or tile floors, covered the entire ground, giving Trowa's bare feet the most delightful bath of comfort they'd felt in ages. Gold trim, tracing the walls along the ceiling and floor, caught the gently flickering light of the golden torches that were scattered almost haphazardly through the chamber.

Oh yeah, this was nice. This was really nice.

Closing his eyes, Trowa leaned further into the pillows, letting their feathery softness surround his frame. 'I could get used to this.'

"Master Trowa? Your employer will see you now."

Cracking one green eye lazily open as Jeeves' voice met his ears, the acrobat sighed. 'Always right when I get comfortable...' "Aa. Moving." With a grunt, he got off the couch and meandered towards the servant, who bowed in appreciation and proceeded down the hall, leading the way.

Trowa's eyes still roved as he walked, noting that the walls of the hallway still carried that fabulous trim. 'Wonder if that's real,' he mused to himself even as he started to take note of the portraits that lined the passageway.

All too soon (or just in time, seeing as how the acrobat's fingers were starting to itch with the longing to sample some of the extensive goods that lined the halls), they arrived before a huge oak door. Trowa crossed his arms, tucking his inquisitive fingers into the crooks of his elbows and well away from the expensive, delicate and overly available miniature crystal vases that decorated the table to the doorknob's right, watching as the servant spoke to the plane of wood announcing the arrival of 'the evening's entertainment.'

Trowa arched a brow as a delicate voice replied telling Jeeves to send him in, its tone bored and sharp and bordering so on the line of femininity and masculinity that even the acrobat's trained ears couldn't discern the sexuality of its owner.

He was broke out of his pondering as that huge door was opened and he was gently shoved through the portal into the room beyond.

It took his eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness that permeated this one particular chamber. Looking around, his heart fell. He'd been expecting extreme extravagance to compliment what he'd seen throughout the rest of the household.

Instead what he saw was a barren chamber sparsely decorated with books, assorted weapons and a small collection of musical instruments. Very, very dull when compared to what he'd been witness to on his journey to this room.

Letting his eyes scan for a few brief moments, he took a quick inventory of the room. Simple bed more resembling a cot than the four poster he was expecting, a desk with a chair and a pile of papers atop of it, a fairly plain wardrobe, an open cabinet with a single scimitar and a few daggers dangling within its confines, a piano littered with papers, a violin laying forgotten upon the floor, a flute resting upon a chair, a lute upside-down against the remarkably undecorated wall. He shivered as the room's cold air caressed his skin and swiftly rubbed his bare arms. 'Blasted sleeveless tunic.'

"Well, are you going to stand there all evening taking inventory of my room, or are you going to do what you were hired to do? I expect to be entertained, rogue."

Trowa nearly jumped out of his skin. Swiftly turning upon his toe, he set eyes upon the person who'd addressed him. 'Damn it! Didn't even hear it approaching! What the hell...'

And he stopped his mental train of thought, staring.

He couldn't discern exactly what was standing before him.

Arching a golden brow, dark blue eyes narrowed, the thin being set a bony hand upon a hip. The moonlight that poured in through the room's solitary (albeit huge, but still solitary) window reflected off paper-white skin, causing the creature to nearly glow in the extreme black darkness of its surrounding. Trowa's gaze slowly roamed over the body before him, traveling over the highly set and perfect cheekbones, the thin lips, the huge eyes, the skinny neck, the tunic clad chest...

"Ahem."

Ripping his gaze back to the person's face, Trowa gulped and bowed. "Allow me to introduce myself. Trowa Barton."

With a light huff the being shrugged. "Fine. Lord VonWinner."

"Any first name?" Trowa asked, his lips turning upwards with a slight smile in the other person's direction. 'Well, at least now I know it's male...'

"As far as you're concerned, thief? Lord."

Trowa blinked. 'Thief...?'

"Don't think I don't know that you were calculating the net worth of my household on your way here. I could see that in those greedy eyes of yours."

Gulping, the acrobat tensed. 'Shit...'

"But I'll forgive that and let you escape this place with your life and your pay if you start doing what I hired you to do. Entertain me."

'Where to begin, where to begin...' Trowa closed his eyes, attempting to get his train of thought back on track, it having been cleanly derailed by the discomfort he was now feeling in this tiny boy's presence.

Huffing Lord VonWinner crossed his arms over his chest and walked over to his chair. Tossing the flute towards the acrobat, he plopped down into the cushions. As Trowa caught the thrown instrument, the young Lord sighed. "I like that instrument. Maybe you can play me something. Hopefully something I haven't heard before."

"Play something?"

"You CAN play the flute, can't you?"

Trowa slowly nodded.

"Then play me something."

Trowa lifted the instrument to his lips.

"And do it while balancing on one foot on this."

The acrobat nearly landed on his face as the cannon ball slammed into his foot.

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Trowa staggered into the tavern, sweat lining his brow and a heavy purse in his right hand. "Be damned if I ever go back in there... pay's hardly worth it," he grunted as he fell into a chair with a sigh upon his lips.

"Ya ho, Tro-kun!"

'Oh please, no...'

Trowa was nearly knocked right out of his chair as a bounding blur of black slapped him across his back, laughing merrily. "Evening, Duo," he grumbled as he straightened himself and scooted himself back into his comfy warm spot in his flattened cushions. 'Not as comfortable as that couch...'

"Where have you been all evening?" another voice sounded from Trowa's left, snorting quietly. "We were waiting for you by the Gates."

"Sorry. Got contracted to do something."

"Something more important than the job we were sent to do?" Prussian blue eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Ah hell, calm yourself down, Heero. It's not like our contractor showed up today, anyway. All we got was his servant saying to return in a week 'cause he needed to finish building his funds to pay us."

Trowa simply shrugged as Duo latched onto his disgruntled warrior friend and attempted to drag him away. Setting his emerald gaze on the armored boy, he sighed. "I couldn't exactly refuse the offer, Heero. It was from House VonWinner."

"Likely excuse."

"It's valid," Trowa grunted.

"What proof do you have?" Heero muttered, crossing his arms over his armored chest.

Trowa waved a waitress over. "What will you gentlemen be having?"

"Same ol' same ol'!" Duo chirped, even before Heero got the opportunity to open his mouth.

"Fine. One mug of Ol' One Eye for the magician, one Dwarven Ale for the dismal warrior over there, and a cider for me." Digging through his pouch, Trowa's thin fingers soon emerged holding a silvery coin that the waitress snatched away with greed.

As she scampered away to fill the order, Duo arched a brow. "Was that what I thought it was?"

"Yep."

Even Heero looked mildly impressed, scratching his chin. "Pray tell, what did you do to earn platinum? Usually you bring us copper and silver at best, acrobat."

"Told you. Entertained the Lord of VonWinner."

"You mean Vincent? I thought he was currently at the Castle with the rest of the high ups of this city," Heero said, arching a brow.

"Not Vincent. Looked to be his son."

Duo grinned, leaning on Trowa's chair's armrest. "Never knew Vincent VonWinner had himself a son."

"Neither did I," Heero said with a nod.

"Hell, none of this town seems to know," Trowa said as he shrugged. "Though why he'd be hidden away is beyond me."

Stopping their conversation for a few moments to accept their ordered beverages, the three adventurers sent the waitress on her way. Sipping their drinks, they resumed staring at one another.

"Anyway, all I did to earn that was entertain him for the evening."

"Kinky. I didn't know you were into same gender lovin' too, Tro-kun."

Trowa sputtered into his cider. "No!" he gasped, nearly slamming his mug into the chair's armrest and atop Duo's head. "I juggled. I played the flute. I ended up balancing on everything from cannon balls to marbles. And the biggest kick he got out of my performance was when I fell off the wine glass he had me doing handstands on and broke my nose."

"I was wondering why you had bandages across your face," Heero cackled, a grin upon his face.

"Bah."

And, with laughter at their now completely red faced friend, the warrior and the magician drank to their hearts' contents, casually beginning to plan and plot exactly what procedures they'd be using to accomplish their assignment in the dreaded City of the Dead, now scheduled to take place some time next week.

Trowa ignored them, focusing instead upon the memories of an evening in a cold room entertaining a young boy with a seemingly colder heart.

_tbc..._


	3. Chapter II

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

_-BEGIN FIC-_

"Neh, you gonna eat that?"

Heero's eyebrow twitched as he glowered at his black-robed companion, his teeth gritted as he snarled, "Yes. Stop asking."

"But you've been staring at that roll for the last five minutes and thirteen seconds!"

"Duo..."

"But..."

Clearing his throat, Trowa delicately cut into the conversation. "Duo? I'd stop harassing him if I were you. He's going to eat the roll."

Duo leaned back against the cold brick wall behind him with a grunt. "Hmph! Leaving me to starve. See if I ever share my dinner with either of you again!"

"You never have, Duo," Trowa said, a slight smirk upon his lips.

"Aa," Heero agreed as he nibbled upon his roll.

"Oh, shut up." Swinging his arms back and forth before his body, Duo sighed. "These suck."

"If you'd stop swinging them around, they would stop biting into your wrists, baka."

"It gives me something to complain about."

"Hn. Somehow I knew that was why you were doing that."

Trowa simply stared, listening to the conversation between his two adventuring buddies before resuming his study of the door that was before him. It was an ugly door, crafted of overly varnished pine, crudely hung on leather hinges reinforced with steel bits. It was even crafted of the lowest quality wood in the region, flooded with knotholes and distortions. Hell, it even hung crookedly, making it squeal harshly when it was yanked open with all the strength the burly guard on the other side of it could muster.

'Wonder if that same guard's on the other side. Maybe the watch has changed. Damn, do I wish there was a window so I could check...'

With a snort he glowered at the room's only window, which was of course directly behind him, stationed upon the wall Duo was currently leaning against. It was nothing more than a hole in the brick wall that was secured with iron bars placed little more than two or three inches away from one another, allowing the cold night air in and letting the rain from the storm that was rampaging through town pour into the small chamber, but giving no hope of escape.

Looking around the rest of the chamber, using the dimming light of the cloud-obscured moon to aid his eyesight, he studied the other two well constructed walls and the small hole in the center of the floor that was hardly big enough for a mouse to squeeze through, much less offer a means to exit the chamber that was meant to usher the rainwater and their waste away from them.

He had to give the persons who constructed the structure he and his two adventuring companions were currently in credit.

They certainly knew how to build one helluva prison.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

All three of the men bolted upright from their slumber as they heard the huge door that allowed entry to their prison cell being jerked open. Blinking, tears streaming from their eyes as the harsh light of a freshly lit torch poured into the room, the prisoners squinted and attempted to recognize any chance to escape. None being made obvious, they turned to attempting to identify the person who had entered their chamber, bearing the almighty torch of light.

Duo's eyes were the first to adjust, which lead him to laughing happily. "HEY! You finally showed up! Our holy savior! If I didn't have these damned shackles on my wrists, I'd hug you, man."

"Hm. That's something to keep in mind... perhaps I'll petition with the Captain of the Guard to part with those and make them a permanent accessory to your person, Maxwell."

Trowa blinked rapidly. "Chang!"

"Heh. Been waiting for you," Heero chimed in.

With a sigh, the eastern boy shook his head, his hard onyx glare settling on each of the shabby prisoners, taking in their conditions one by one. "You three are hopeless. You know that? Completely hopeless."

Heero simply glowered as his wrists, even as Trowa sighed, "I know, I know."

"Oh, c'mon! How were we supposed to know that the grave I... er... excavated was that of the Paladinson's ancestors!"

"You sacrilegious little cur," Wufei softly muttered, his cold gaze focusing on Duo, causing the seasoned magician to shiver a bit in his boots. "At least you could show proper respect to the dead?"

"Heh. They're great spell components, though..."

"And you'll never be seeing that grave dirt, those ashes, nor those jewels ever again."

"Damn it!"

Heero cleared his throat, drawing the raven-haired boy's attention away from his friend. "Anyway, why are you here, Chang? Going to bail us out, or going to send us to our deaths? Your call, I do recall."

"Actually, that's the call of the Paladinson."

Trowa choked. "You've got to be kidding!"

Shaking his head, Wufei snorted. "It was his family's grave your little friend was caught robbing. And it was you three who were captured in the City of the Dead after sundown. You all KNOW you're not supposed to be beyond those gates after the sun sets over the endless sea... what drove you to traipse so foolishly into that den of evil?"

Heero shrugged. "Good pay for a vampire's teeth."

Trowa nodded. "Rumor that the undead carry heavy purses."

Duo grinned wildly. "Great spell components!"

Wufei simply slapped his forehead.

"So, is there any option other than going to court before the Paladinson?"

"Actually, you aren't to be going before the Paladinson, Trowa."

"Really?" Arching a brow, the acrobat leaned more comfortably against the wall that served as his backrest. "What's supposedly happening to us?"

Shrugging, Wufei sighed. "You're going before the Council."

"Council...?"

"Ever heard of Blackstaff?"

Duo audibly gulped.

"Blackstaff, Elminster, Paladinson, and about 9 other assorted persons from this city."

Heero and Trowa blinked, responding as one. "The Hidden Lords? We're dead..."

Gulping again, attempting to swallow the lump that had appeared in his throat, Duo nodded. "No kidding. No one sees the Hidden Lords of Waterdeep and lives to tell about it, 'less they're assigned specifically to guard them... shit."

Walking slowly towards the door, Wufei glanced back at the three miserable, shivering prisoners. "What was your pay to be used for?"

As one, the three simply sighed, "Hill's Far."

The boy bearing the torch stopped in his footsteps. "Weren't they the ones..."

Trowa nodded. "Revenged by the plague and the pilfering of the goblins that followed... remember the sweep over the Plains? That was them."

Heero shrugged. "Lots of people left homeless. Every gold helps."

And, with a wordless nod, Duo simply blinked.

"Orphans, neh?" Wufei filled in, sighing as the braided boy nodded affirmation of the onyx-eyed boy's question.

Sighing once more, Wufei simply straightened the sword that hung at his side, marking him as a Commander in the famous Waterhavian Guard. "A noble enough cause... perhaps, JUST perhaps, there may be a breech in security tonight. You and I both know nothing of this."

Trowa's eyes glistened with merriment as a slim shard of metal landed by his bootless foot. He swiftly gripped it between his toes and tucked it under himself for safekeeping. "I understand."

Heero smirked, nodding. "Our eternal gratitude."

The acrobat took a moment to study the slouched posture of their friend in the Guard, and arched a brow. "You're endangering yourself, you know."

"Of course. It's not the first time I've done this for you incompetent idiots."

"HEY!" Duo snarled, finally having gotten hold of himself enough to pay attention to the conversation.

Ignoring him, the others continued with Heero nodding slowly. "Still, even though this will not be the first time you've assisted our escape from this prison, it should be your last. Every time you do this, you only succeed in drawing suspicion to yourself. I noticed that you've lost rank since our last encounter... Captain."

With a grunt, Wufei shrugged. "Maybe. But loss of an easily gained title to support a grander cause that truly brings honor to this world is no loss to be mourned."

"True enough," the warrior confirmed with a nod, "but the loss of that person who gave himself for the sake of that hope of honor would be greatly mourned by his friends. You're in danger, aren't you?"

Trowa swallowed harshly. "If they're already on to you, they're going to kill you if we escape again..."

"Hmph."

Duo's eyes narrowed dangerously as he quietly growled, "Then we ain't goin'. We've known you for too long... if you think we're going to abandon one of our ol' childhood buddies just to save our own asses, you're friggin' insane."

"They can't kill that which they can't catch," the Guard simply muttered with a shrug.

Trowa found it impossible to fight off the smirk that was making its presence known upon his face. "We could always use a person with your skills on the road... planning on making this a merry party of four once more, oh honorable City Guard?"

"I'll think about it."

"YEE HA! Gonna be great to have you back, Wu-chan!"

Rounding violently, Wufei grabbed a handful of braid and gave it a swift jerk, landing the magician flat on his face. "Only ONE being is allowed to refer to me as that... and until that diety walks this plane once more, I expect to never have to listen to that obnoxious nickname again in the realm of the living. Understood!"

"Haaaaaiiiiiii... orooooo..."

And, with that said, the black-haired guard marched out of the cell and slammed the door firmly behind himself, muttering something to himself along the lines of 'the magician's no god, no matter how fervently he wishes it... the real Shinigami's much more insane.'

At the mention of Cyric, the guards in the vicinity of the enraged boy simply shivered and returned to their wonderful duties of scrubbing the floors and tending to prisoners.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

As the three figures stole their way silently through the night, their passage through the dark alleyways of Waterdeep failed to go unnoticed.

Brilliant eyes absorbed the gentle light of the moon, their sheen nearly silver with the reflected white from the orb that dangled in the heavens, finally freed from its obscuring cover of clouds as the storm that had plagued the coast had finally progressed inland. Blinking slowly, nearly transparent eyelashes brushing over pale skin, the owner of those eyes crouched upon its perch, delicately balancing upon the top of the easternmost spire of Castle Waterdeep. A ghostly white humaniod hand snaked free from the billowing black cloak that hid the being from detection, carefully gripping the top of the flagpole it was balanced upon.

It leapt effortlessly from its precarious perch moments before a griffin-riding knight of the City Guard swept through the area.

Those silvery eyes stared at the griffin for a few moments before returning their gaze to the city sprawled out before it.

Those eyes vanished into the recesses of the hood, just as the being slowly stepped forward.

The air surrounding the black cloaked being shimmered, the image of the city framing it bending, as it vanished from view.

_tbc..._


	4. Chapter III

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam Wing or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

_-BEGIN FIC-_

"Ah, nothing like rabbit on a spit to make a man's stomach rumble, neh Wufei?"

The eastern boy simply arched a brow at the sorcerer beside him. "I thought you were studying your spells, magician. Why are you hovering over the fire?"

"Done for the moment. Brain's 'bout to explode."

A nasal voice broke through the clearing, interjecting, "Doesn't that describe every moment of your day, baka?"

"Shaddup, Heero!"

"Hn. No brain mage, hardly able to cast a fireball."

Wufei laughed as Duo grinned manically, his eyes closed and eyebrows knitted, fists clenched at his side.

"Just you wait, Yuy. One day, just one day..."

"What? You'll pay me back for gagging you with your braid like you've been threatening to do for the last 3 years?"

"... Shaddup."

Turning the rabbit on its makeshift spit, Wufei shook his head, not bothering to pay attention to the commotion as the warrior and the mage continued their 'discussion' that soon boiled down to Duo attempting to give Heero a concussion with his spellbook. Glancing off into the trees, the ex-City Guard narrowed his eyes. 'Their loud mouthed bickering is certain to draw the attention of everything in this wood. Easily sets us up for an ambush, it does.'

'Barton had better be standing a decent watch to prevent that.'

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However, Trowa was nowhere near standing a decent watch. Rather, he was staring at the moon from his seat thirty feet in the air amongst the branches of an ancient pine tree, lost in thoughts and memories.

Running through his mind's eye was the visage of a pale skinned boy that lived in a lush, frigid mansion.

"Lord VonWinner, eh?" he sighed softly to the stars as he stared at the constellations overhead.

Frowning, he closed his eyes, reflecting on his thoughts.

Until just three days ago when he'd been asked to entertain the boy, he'd never known that Vincent VonWinner had a son, even though he'd lived in Waterdeep for the better part of a year and had connections with persons who had connections with virtually every family of influence that ran the City of Splendors.

Lord Vincent VonWinner was known to be an eccentric old human man, estimated to be in his seventies by the number of wrinkles and white hair that covered his features. Reputably a powerful mage, the man had reportedly retired from the adventuring field and diverted his talents instead to the realm of management and trading, soon coming to head the treasury and holding a good share of the trade industry and market industry in Waterdeep. He lived a surprisingly modest life for a man of his power, prestige and wealth, apparently having divulged himself into his wish to live amongst the more common people instead of heading a Lordship or Sorcerers' Academy as was his right as an experienced, intelligent and well-versed adventurer of the Realms.

Over the course of his career, he'd run with the Avatars of the Gods during the Time of Troubles, fought hordes of dragons in the defense of the Dalelands along side with Elminster, adventured through the Mysterious East, braved the Jungles of Chult, and freed the imprisoned king of Cromyr from the tyrant who'd taken over that kingdom but a few months after the conclusion of the Year of the Banner.

Nowhere in his legacy was it mentioned that he had a son.

Knitting his brows, Trowa frowned. The boy he'd encountered had to be at least fifteen years of age, approximately four years junior to himself, judging by his build and voice.

Fifteen years ago, Lord Vincent VonWinner was supposedly with the Waterdeep Armada, assisting with the defeat of the pirates that had raided the harbor in that era. He was also supposedly in his mid to late fifties and very, very single.

"Just doesn't make sense..."

His thoughts were interrupted by a gargled cry that screeched from deep within the woods.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa was second to the scene, defeated in the desperate race for the location of the strange scream only by Wufei Chang.

"Chang, what's up?" he puffed breathlessly, trotting to the dark- haired boy's side.

Turning his onyx gaze to his companion, Wufei sighed. "Whoever it is, he's dying. His aura..."

"Fading?"

"It'll make it impossible to find him."

"But he's in this area?"

"That's an affirmative."

Nodding to one another, they began to thoroughly search the clearing they'd both stumbled into.

It was Trowa who found what they were looking for, accidentally tripping gracelessly over something that had been hastily buried in a pile of leaves he'd been trying to traverse through. Hurriedly brushing the leaves away, frowning as he heard that faint and pained groan ring away, he lifted his gaze. "Chang! Found him!"

The knight was already at his side, dagger in hand. Kneeling at Trowa's side, he scowled. "How... barbaric."

The old man's eyeless sockets stared heavenward as his tongue-less mouth opened and shut, blood bubbling at the corners of his lips as he desperately attempted to draw breath through his shallowly slit throat into his punctured lungs. Vainly trying to lift one of his broken limbs, he flung his limp and obviously shattered hand towards the sky, whimpering tonelessly at the heavens.

"Can you make out anything he's saying?" Trowa quietly asked.

"No."

"His thoughts?"

Sighing, the warrior closed his eyes. "I... can't. His mind's too clouded by pain and sorrow for me to discern what he's thinking."

Heero's voice rang from behind them, "Concentrate, Wufei."

Glaring over his shoulder, Wufei snorted. "I'm a wild-talent, not a trained psionisist, Yuy."

Sighing, Heero crossed his arms over his chest. "Who is he?"

"Hells if I know," Wufei sighed, turning back to the man.

"Put him out of his misery," Duo, who'd silently stood by behind the brown-haired warrior, whispered gravely. "Don't make him continue suffering... that's too fucking cruel."

Trowa's eyes widened, even as Wufei drew his dagger across the man's throat.

"Jeeves."

Three sets of eyes focused upon him. "What did you say, Trowa?" Heero questioned, a brow arching.

"Jeeves. He was a servant of House VonWinner. He hired me to entertain Vincent VonWinner's son."

"A servant of VonWinner...? Brutally murdered and thrown out into the woods?" Duo muttered with a frown, scratching his chin.

"Oh Gods, save us. He's trying to think."

Wufei was promptly smacked with the magician's staff.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Bowing deeply, his movements hindered only slightly by the heavy armor he was wearing, the man sighed. "Jeeves has been eliminated, my Lord."

"Good," a deep voice rumbled from the soft black shadows that draped themselves like rich curtains over the rear of the poorly lit chamber, obscuring all that resided there, giving only the barest glimpse of a robed man in a large throne-like chair and an end-table set adjacent to that chair with a large wine goblet set upon it. "And my little Quatre?"

"Still missing, my Lord."

"Unacceptable."

The armored man gulped.

"Otto, you will gather your finest warriors and locate that boy. I want him returned to me as quickly as is possible."

"Yes, my Lord. We will recover your son as soon as we can." Rising and saluting smartly, the guard hurried out of the room.

The figure in the shadows sighed, lifting that barely-seen goblet to his lips and sipping the liquor it held. "I can't have that creature on the loose."

"I won't allow that wicked little demon to run unchained."

"For the sake of the Realms, I can't..."

_tbc..._


	5. Chapter IV

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam Wing or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

Special notes: _Dream sequence, _**Mind speech**

_-BEGIN FIC-_

_The flowers still spread as far as the eye could see._

_Their fragrance still permeated the air, coloring it vividly with the luscious scents of daisies and delicate posies._

_Their brilliant petals still opened to the sun, calling its gentle rays down to caress them and warm them, to evaporate the early morning dew that still littered their stems and chilled their leaves._

_The young man in the midst of that field crossed his tanned arms over his chest, his onyx eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the sprawling quilt of vivid beauty that sprawled before him._

_"Just another dream," he sighed, hanging his head, his raven black hair sweeping around his face._

_Still, he smiled._

_"At least..."_

_"At least she'll be here."_

_And with that said, he raised his face, a bittersweet yet expectant smile gracing his lips as he chose a direction._

_"She always loved that rose bush to the north."_

"YA HO! Wakey wakey!"

Rolling over with a grunt, the raven-haired warrior pulled his blanket more tightly over his head.

Not to be outdone, the mage plopped down on top of the form huddled beneath the thin cotton barrier against the cold, making certain to rest all of his weight right where it should hurt.

He was promptly smacked with a sword, still in its scabbard as per his luck, over his head.

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Trowa arched a brow as he gnawed on his roasted fish, staring at his small gathering of friends.

Heero, being half asleep still at this time of day, didn't make for interesting watching. The young man was doing nothing more than chewing whatever remains of his breakfast was still in his mouth and tiredly dragging his whetstone along the length of his sword, being careful to not deepen any of the already crucially large cracks and notches in his weapon.

Duo and Wufei on the other hand were glaring at one another over their breakfasts, having just finished a marvelous spat of fencing with the sticks they'd roasted their freshly caught piscine on.

"YOU were the one who whapped me, you idiot."

"You know better than to wake me like that, moron."

"Fine, fine! Next time I'll just shove a fireball up your ass."

"Hmph. I've nothing to worry about, then, seeing as how you can hardly cast that spell to save your life."

"WHAT!"

"Heh."

Duo clenched his fists even as Wufei smugly grinned, taking a bite of a biscuit he'd procured from their ration packs.

Just as the mage clasped his hands together, his violet eyes fading to white and his mouth beginning to formulate the words of an enchantment, Trowa's sharp ears caught just the distinct sound that was never welcome in the morning.

He'd heard the snapping of a twig behind him.

And, even as he turned with his dagger practically having leapt to his hand, the forest burst into a sea of chaos.

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Otto sighed as he stared along the length of the winding path he'd chosen to follow, his eyes observing the many twists and turns that occupied the largely uphill road.

"Why the hell do they always have to build their fortresses atop of damned hills?" he muttered, even as he started along his way.

---))0000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Dark red wine swirled around the interior of the crystal goblet.

"So you understand my dilemma?"

The young man who stood before the shadow-enshrouded chair nodded, his arms crossed over his chainmail clad chest. A frown forming upon his lips, he lowered the gaze cast by his green almond-shaped eyes to the floor. "It is quite a serious mess you've gotten yourself into, m'lord."

"Indeed. But you do understand what the rewards for you and your people will be if you assist me in this matter?"

Returning his stark gaze to the shadows before him, the man narrowed his eyes, his dark lashes brushing against fair cheeks. "A great gift you've offered us, I'll not deny. However, two things I must know. One, how are you planning to accomplish such? E'en my people, with their millennia of deviance against them, have done naught to harm them. And two, why do you think we'll assist you in hunting a creature who's servant of the same gods we revere?"

A faint rustle in the shadows before the man sounded, along with a soft chuckle. "To answer your first question, let me simply say that e'en the grand magics of the drow can do nothing against the might of the creature I ask you to capture. Turning it in its rage would do wonders to turn the tide of your continuing stale-mated war with them."

Eyes widening, the lithe man gritted his teeth. "So you intend us to fetch it so you can put it to use once more...? Nonsense! It shalnt happen!"

"And two, if you do not agree to assist me, you will not leave this manor alive."

With a snort, he shook his head. "Take my life as you must, old man. We elves have more pride than to subject ourselves to hopeless quests that will do naught but endanger our people and strike against those creatures of good we've striven for many eons longer than humans have plagued these Realms to gain the favor of. I will not employ my people to assist you in this task."

Sighing, the form in the shadows took a sip from his wine glass. "Very well. The fate of our people are not your concern... therefore the fate of yours will no longer be mine. Maybe your dark brethren will be more... cooperative."

Gulping, the elf took a tentative step back. "You... you aren't suggesting..."

"Bringing them to the surface?" Cackling, the hidden man set his wine glass down upon the end table that was next to his chair. "Aye, I am. We both know that the dark ones would do anything, if the reward were great enough."

"You would incur their wrath..."

"I fear their wrath not one bit. It is only the wrath of that one that drives terror into my heart. The drow, compared to that creature, would present no challenge."

"And you were suggesting, then, to send my people on a suicide mission."

"Nay, nay, good elf. Your kind are not yet hated by that horrible monster. You could reason with it, mayhaps convince it to return to safety here with me. You would have the ability to bring it under control."

"So you could use it..."

The rustle of cloth, perhaps indicative of a shrug, rang from the dark shadows. "Perhaps. But for nothing other than wholly good intentions."

Lowering his eyes, the elf growled. "So either you draw up the dark ones to wage war upon it here on our surface, drawing us into this chaos anyway... or we agree with your mad scheme..."

"You've got it."

"I will speak to my elders tonight, mage."

"Very well. I'll expect you back within one day. And, if I do not see you..."

"..." Mouth open, the elf gripped his throat, his eyes widened in horror. "Bi... gby...'s..."

"You will die. As will your village."

Nodding even as he was released, the elf hurriedly ran from the room, leaving the madly cackling man in his dark shadows and self-imposed isolation. Rubbing his throat as he burst into the sunlight of the inviting outdoors he glowered over his shoulder at the chilled manor that towered above him, its visage having degraded from an object of splendor to a horrid blot upon the innocent sky so condemned to be its backdrop. Shivering, he crossed the gateway to emerge onto the sidewalk and hurriedly made his way out of North Ward as quickly as his feet could carry him.

"Mad man..."

"All the legacies said he was a great, good human..."

"But he's utterly mad."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

The door opened before the wild haired man before he'd even rapped his knuckles upon the hard oak that made its construction.

Otto gulped, even as he stepped across the threshold. "Hello?"

"State your purpose," an ethereal voice sounded, surrounding him even as the doors slammed shut behind him.

Nearly leaping out of his skin, Otto wiped his brow, swallowing the large lump that had formed in his throat. "I... I was sent by Lord VonWinner of Waterdeep... with a proposal."

"STATE YOUR PURPOSE."

"He... needs you to help him find his son."

Silence fell upon the huge chamber. A faint trickle of light glimmered from the wall before the quivering man, creating the outline of a previously hidden door.

"If this truly considers his son, then enter."

Nodding, Otto stepped up to the door, entering as it opened itself before him.

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Heero and Wufei buried their faces into the ground, having just slammed into it from a full run.

Magical lightning raced over their prone forms, arching to strike each of the goblins that had been charging forward to attack them, causing the little bulldog-like creatures to twitch and spasm, screaming horribly. Even as they collapsed in smoldering heaps the warriors were back on their feet resuming their wild trek.

Dusting his fingertips off on his robes, Duo hurriedly picked up his staff from where he'd set it to free his hands for casting. "Hold up, Heero!"

Breaking his stride for a moment, the Prussian Blue eyed youth nodded. "Hurry."

Trowa, meanwhile, was calmly stalking his prey.

The large flind that had directed the goblins to chase them down was still completely unaware of his presence.

Delicately balancing upon the tree limb, he stared at the creature below him. Shorter and stouter than the gnolls that it commanded, it none-the-less held a more threatening presence, its eyes radiating a far greater intelligence than that held by its inferior brethren. Being caught by this creature would do nothing more than bring the entire encampment he'd snuck his way into down upon his head.

Not that such hadn't happened before but this time neither Heero nor Wufei was with him. He didn't know whether he'd be able to escape on his own.

Still he'd had to strike out on his own. He'd noticed which direction the goblins had come from before they'd formed their enclosure around them to ambush them. He'd also noticed that his friends were being herded in the opposite direction.

He had to find out what was going on.

Leaping silently from the branches, he pressed the sharp edge of his dagger to the flind's throat, resisting the urge to smirk as the creature gagged and gulped in shock.

"All I want is answers. Give them to me, and I'll make your death a little less painful than I'd like."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei, meanwhile, had conveniently found himself alone as Heero had doubled back to fight his way through their pursuers and locate the mage he held so dear to his person.

However, he'd also found himself face to face with the ugliest, smelliest, and most surprisingly skilled ogre he'd hoped to never meet.

And he was finding out that it had friends.

**If you hadn't left them, you wouldn't be in this mess.**

Wufei's eyes snapped wide open, even as he thrust his katana to its hilt into the stomach of the ogre before him, whipping it out sharply to attack the next. 'What the...!'

**Rear, boy, rear!**

Pivoting sharply, he struck blindly with his weapon, being startled when it connected and a gargled scream met his ears.

'What... where are you!'

**That's for me to know and you to never find out.**

Glaring about, Wufei snarled, his eyes narrowed. The ogres slowly backed away.

They soon found themselves screaming, clutching their skulls and running in terror.

Eyes widened in shock, the warrior stared after his fleeing foes. "What the hell...?"

**It's time for you to return to your friends, neh?**

'Who are you!'

**None of your concern. Maybe I'll tell you later... when she actually thinks you're worthy of knowing me. 'Till then, we'll just be haunting you.**

Closing his eyes as that foreign voice's laughter rang in his skull, he gritted his teeth. 'Who are you speaking of...?'

**Dreaaaaaming away... You'll see her again tonight, neh? Those lovely images, those lovely flowers, that lovely woman, moments before...**

'WHAT!'

And the raven haired boy stood, shivering, even as that cackle faded slowly away, proclaiming that it would return at another time.

The flowers were still the same, bright, beautiful colors they were that day.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

_She was still smiling as she lifted the rose to her face, inhaling its sweet fragrance._

_"Meiran..."_

_As she turned, he screamed._

_Her empty eye sockets glowered at him, as that wicked, mocking laugh rang through the pristine blue sky._

_tbc..._


	6. Chapter V

Review reply: El Terrible Fizzy! Thanks for letting me know _someone's _reading and enjoying this. (little laugh) It'll keep coming (at least until I reach the addendums and run completely out of creativity juice)! Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam Wing or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

Notes: _dream sequence, **Mind speech in dream sequences, **_**Mind speech in normal/awake state**

_-BEGIN FIC-_

The scream echoed through the night.

Sitting straight up in his bedroll, Wufei stared at the fire that blazed merrily in the center of the small campground he and his companions had set up, his eyes wide and droplets of sweat trickling along his brow. Panting quietly, he gulped, attempting to calm the panicked beating of his heart.

By the time his friends had arrived, Wufei had his face buried in his hands, attempting to slow his breathing.

"Neh! What the hell happened?" Duo immediately asked, being down on his knees beside the warrior, hands laying tenderly upon his shoulders, before the other two men could even reach him.

Frowning as he received nothing but silence and soft breathing for an answer, Duo looked helplessly to Heero. "Maybe you can shake some answers out of him, neh?"

Heero shrugged, muttering that it was probably only a nightmare before returning to his bedroll and passing back into the blackness of sleep.

Arching a brow, Trowa shook his head. "Never recall Heero being able to fall asleep within a minute of being awoken when I knew him last."

Duo simply shook his head before returning his attention to the warrior his hands still rested upon. "Neh, Chang..."

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Blinking slowly, the violet-eyed wizzard snorted. "Listen, buddy. I've known you since your Ma first let you toddle from the house in your undies..."

"Foster Mother."

"Yeah, whatever. Details. But I know you don't get bent out of shape over dreams..."

Casting his gaze at Duo, Wufei sighed, lowering his hands and folding them neatly in his lap. "I don't."

"Then what the fuck's wrong?"

"She..."

Duo just let his head fall, his neck loose like overcooked spaghetti. "C'mon, man. That was, like, 4 years ago..." Immediately ducking, expecting the usual response to that stark reminder, the mage jerked his hands away from the man, attempting to shield himself from the inevitably coming whack over his skull.

He was shocked when he got nothing. Looking up, he stared at the warrior who simply gazed into the fire, his eyes wide and vacant.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Otto huffed and puffed as he climbed up the stairs.

'How many floors does this damned place have?' his brain screamed, even as he began the next spiral to lead to yet the next level of the twisting structure he roamed through.

And so suddenly that he almost ran face first into the large pine door, the staircase came to an abrupt end.

Blinking, Otto reached for the door handle. He wasn't shocked a bit when the door opened for him.

Warily entering the chamber beyond he glanced about. Whistling in appreciation he nodded.

He'd seen spell libraries, but this was one of the best yet.

Spellbooks lined every available bit of wall space that the room held and were littered about on multitudes of podiums and tables that chocked the chamber so full that it was nearly impossible to imagine maneuvering through it. Flickering candlelight so filled the room that it was nearly as bright as day, needing no assistance from the curtained windows to light the large area.

He was no mage, but he could still appreciate the sheer volume of wisdom and power that was encased in the room he stood in.

"So what do you think, Otto?"

The man nearly jumped out of his skin, startled by the ancient, laughing voice that had muttered its question right behind him. Turning sharply on his heel, Otto let his shoulders slack when he realized who he was facing and placed a hand over his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart slowly calm itself.

"Most impressive, m'Lord."

"Oh, no need for all this 'm'Lord' speak, my dear boy. Just call me by name. So much more friendly and personable, isn't it? Such makes for a more relaxed environment, where we can speak as equals and you can tell me why VonWinner sent you to me."

"Of course... Elminster."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa looked over his shoulder as they rode along the forest path slowly heading east towards Bone Mountain, intending to swing south once they hit the trade roads and get themselves to Ormath.

News of work in the Shining Plains heard from the mercenaries they'd recently stolen their new horses from definitely lightened the hearts of the four adventurers, but it did nothing to alleviate the new problem they had.

Frowning, the acrobat slowed his pace to fall back beside their rear guard, leaving Duo alone in the middle of the small pack.

"Wufei."

Trowa just stared as the warrior rode in silence, his eyes closed and his brow furrowed.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

_Wufei glanced about the flowery field, his eyes widened._

_"Why am I seeing this!"_

_**Day dreaming again, neh?**_

_Turning sharply on his heel in the direction he'd imagined the mysterious voice had emerged from, the eastern boy snarled viciously. "I never have before. What are you doing to me? Why? Who are you!"_

_**Tormenting you. Because it's fun. That's for me to know, and for you to never find out.**_

_"Bastard."_

_He cringed, hearing that unidentified voice laughing at him._

_**Look behind you.**_

_"No."_

_**Oh? You don't care to see her again?**_

_"Every time I look, she's... you..."_

_**Heh. Maybe she is. Maybe she's whole and pure, as she was before you left her to die, refusing to turn and look just as you are now...**_

_"Shut up."_

_**Do you know how she still loathes you for letting her be murdered like that, by those creatures?**_

_"She... she doesn't!"_

_**And how would you know that? Are you a cleric, able to speak with the dead? I think not.**_

_"NEITHER ARE YOU!"_

_Laughing, the voice rang around him, its light, nearly feminine tone touching every orifice of his body at the same time, leaving the warrior disoriented even in his dream. **Ah, but you don't know that. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm a priest who was gifted with the talent. Or maybe I'm someone who CAN touch the spirit world. Hell, maybe I'm FROM it...**_

_"A... spirit...?"_

_**Maybe.**_

_"Why haunt me!"_

_**I have my reasons.**_

_"WHAT? WHY!"_

_Laughter sounded again. **Because you're so fun to torment. The way your face flushes red as a tomato as you scream in fury is hilarious to watch.**_

_Clenching his fists, he turned._

_"Wufei..."_

_And he stared._

_She was smiling at him, lightly caressing the petals of a rose with perfect, slender fingers, her onyx eyes so like his own glistening with joy, her hair pulled away from her face into twin ponytails to leave her perfect, round face free to the breeze that raced over the flowery field._

_"Meiran..."_

_He was still staring in complete and utter shock as the shadow of feathered wings spread across the ground under her._

_And he screamed as the curved edge of a scimitar blazed through her, slicing the imagined image into ribbons of flowing red silk._

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Eyes snapping open, the young man stared wildly around himself.

They were still riding in that same forest. Trowa was at his side, looking at him with no small amount of question and deep concern in his dark emerald eyes.

And that voice, the very voice that mocked him in his dreams, echoed with giggles around him filling the very trees with its haunting tone.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

The elderly man pressed his fingers together, nodding as Otto finished his tale.

"Tis a very serious situation your Lord has gotten himself into. Very serious indeed..."

"That's why he wants you, oh greatest of mages, to assist him."

"Well."

"Will you take him up on his offer?"

Taking a sip of an instantaneously conjured glass of wine, the white bearded human smiled. "Nay."

"Why not?"

"Because I'll not support a quest against that poor creature."

Narrowing his eyes, Otto sighed. "Then I return empty handed?"

"You didn't let me finish my statement."

Bowing his head, Otto looked sheepishly at the mage before him.

"UNLESS. You prove that the freedom of that wee little critter will endanger these realms enough to necessitate my involvement."

"How should I do that, sir?"

Cackling, the mage raised his hand to the air. "That is for you to figure out, boy."

Otto blinked, as he felt water seeping into his shoes.

Looking down, he was utterly amazed to find himself standing in the middle of a dew-soaked field, the tower he'd just spent the entire day in no where to be seen.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo hummed merrily, picking through the small thicket they'd found and decided to set down in for the noontime meal. He'd found some interesting herbs that he was certain he could pummel into some intriguing mix that might or might not have some magical potential, and was intent on finding everything that may be useful that the small area contained.

"You are worse than a pack rat," Heero muttered behind his back.

Turning, Duo grinned and waved a dandelion at the grim warrior, lightly patting his nose with the flowery head of the weed. "You never know when this stuff will come in useful."

Arching a brow, Heero wrinkled his nose. "When will weeds be useful?"

"Didn't'cha know that they can be made into potions?"

Both brows were arched now. "Really?" Walking over to the mage's side he lightly circled his arm around Duo's waist. "What would you use that for?"

Trowa, meanwhile, just watched the two with a slight smile on his lips. 'It's good that they've finally found each other... pity Duo couldn't have known Heero before, though.'

Turning he resumed poking the small fire he'd started, trying to get it to actually take. He wasn't used to building fires.

That was normally Wufei's job and he apparently was indisposed at the moment.

That rare smile fell from his lips, leaving them in his more customary emotionless mask.

'Wonder what's happening to him...'

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei stood by the small creek's edge, staring into its waters as it swiftly flowed over its rocks towards the sea, directly along the path they'd been following, running opposite of their desired direction.

He was still hearing the giggling.

Clenching his fists, he threw his head back, screaming at the heavens to reveal the villain who was plaguing his mind.

The giggling erupted into full-blown laughter.

**You'll see me only when I decide the time is right.**

"Damn you!" Wufei snarled at the sky above, before turning sharply on his heel to march back to the sanctity of the company of his friends.

And walking into the sunlight, he failed to notice the shadow that splayed itself out directly behind him.

The image of fabric billowed by the wind into a pattern similar to spread wings and the shadow of a curved scimitar, laid upon the ground by the sun's gentle rays, vanished into the chaotic array of dapples created by the leaves of the trees.

_tbc..._


	7. Chapter VI

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam Wing. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

Note: _Dream sequence_, **_Mind Speech in Dream Sequence_**,**Mind Speech in waking world**/Spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Trowa looked worriedly over the campfire that early morning, warily reaching for his spit and snatching it away as quickly as his experienced hands could manage.

The boy sitting directly across from him was staring at the fire, its orange flares flickering brilliantly in far-too-shiny black eyes, cackling softly to himself and muttering that 'the voice' was going to get it and 'the voice' was going to pay as soon as he physically showed his face.

Needless to say, this odd behavior from the normally cool and collected Easterner was severely setting his companions on edge.

'To think that Wufei there's the one always known for having the most level head of any of us. This is discomforting,' Trowa thought to himself, slowly munching on his speared pigeon and chewing without thought to the taste. His eyebrow arched as he heard the lithe black-eyed warrior cackle again to no one in particular. 'VERY discomforting.'

Duo, apparently, was thinking along the same lines as the tall acrobat as he stared at Wufei with his fingertips twitching in preparation to throw something, anything to protect them.

Heero seemed completely unperturbed, calmly sharpening his sword.

Wufei just cackled then sharply turned, glowering into the woods behind him. Moments later he hissed quietly, "I know you're there, coward. Show yourself. Come on... oh, you're afraid..."

Duo stared at Trowa as Wufei broke into more deranged, soft laughter.

"Heh. Who'd ever think our buddy would be a mad man? Wonder what the hell they did to him back in Waterdeep to turn him that way."

Trowa just shook his head, his fingers still light in their touch upon his spit and prepared to drop it at a moment's notice to bring forward the dirks he had stuffed in his waistband.

'Our buddy, the mad man, eh? Appropriate.'

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

_**So, were your dreams pleasant last night?**_

_The Eastern boy snarled as he turned and glowered across the decimated field that was littered with the burned remains of flowers. "Leave me be! Or show yourself!"_

_**How many times do I have to tell you that I'll only show myself when the time is right?**_

_"Coward! You're simply afraid, aren't you!"_

_The voice broke into manic laughter, its cheerful tone accented by the parting of the red skies that hovered throughout the dream image, letting a crack of beautiful bright blue shine through upon the devastation below._

_**Afraid? Of you, dear boy?**_

_"Otherwise, you'd show yourself."_

_**Heh. You truly wish to see me, neh...?**_

_"Yes! To see you and drive a sword through your intestines!"_

**_Then look behind you._**

_As that light voice sniggered softly, Wufei cringed. He'd come to fear glancing behind himself - every time he'd ended up screaming or crying upon viewing the sight that was always prepared for him._

_Still..._

_He turned._

_Narrowed eyes widened, tears already leaping to their lashes._

_"NO!"_

_Trying to move, he felt himself being held back by strong hands, his feet rooted to the ground by some unseen force._

_Panting in desperation, he fought with every measure of strength his frame possessed, trying to break free of the grip that was upon him, trying desperately to race across the burning, decimated field of flowery corpses and muddy tracks to stop the event that was taking place._

_He fought vainly, and was rewarded with tightened grips and further paralysis._

_He couldn't even close his eyes._

_Tears poured uninhibited from his eyes as he stared at the imagery formed before him._

_"It's a dream... a lie..."_

_**A memory.**_

_Wufei still attempted to turn away from the sight of the young woman who possessed his heart was torn completely apart by the Tanar'ri who'd just raped her in the squalor that was once their beloved getaway._

_Thankfully his sobbing blocked the sound of the huge winged demon's mocking and wild laughter._

_"You..."_

_**I am not one of the people in this event.** A soft giggle swung around him, caressing every pore of his body**. I'm simply showing you who I am not, as to narrow down the playing field.**_

_"BASTARD!"_

**_Ah ha ha, pot calling the kettle black there, Chang._**

_Growling, the warrior gritted his teeth._

**_As much as I'd love to continue this wonderful little game, I'm going to have to let it end..._**

_Wufei blinked._

**_You're about to be attacked._**

Shaking himself out of the nightmarish daydream, Wufei set his bloodshot gaze upon the people who sat with him around the fire. Trowa for some odd reason looked almost frightened, meaning he was actually scared out of his mind if such emotion had managed to break the mask of his face. Duo was wiggling his fingers, probably trying to remember some spell that might be effective against him. Heero was... doing absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

Blinking, the warrior grunted, "What?"

Trowa stared. "You alright?"

"Yeah."

"What's bothering you so much, Chang?"

"Nothing."

Emerald and violet eyes stared at him, no shred of belief in their depths.

"Hmph," Wufei grunted, glancing over his shoulder, "So much for that 'attack' prediction."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the campsite burst into wild flames, their intensity far and beyond that of the tiny fire, fueled by magic.

Everyone raised their gazes as soon as the first blast of heat had washed through the campsite. Everyone gasped.

"Ogre mages," Heero grunted, gripping his sword.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Otto sighed as he trudged through the marshy field, having set his sights upon the mountain range to the North.

He still had no idea where the wily old mage had dumped him, but he knew the ways of the Realms well enough to know that usually civilization could be found at the foothills of forested mountain ranges.

Grunting, he shook his head.

"How am I supposed to convince Elminster the mighty to join Lord VonWinner in the quest to retrieve his son? Hmph. It's almost impossible."

"'Prove to me that he's a danger to the Realms,' hm? Dammit, I can't do that..."

"How's a snoody Lord's son supposed to be a danger to the Realms! He's nothing more than an arrogant little boy."

"How can a boy be dangerous?"

Still, Otto had his mission. He was to recruit Elminster to aid his Lord.

And he had to figure out a way to do it.

Rubbing his forehead, Otto just muttered about this particular mission being more of a pain in the ass than it was worth.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero neatly parried the sword that was swinging down towards the ground, thrusting as soon as the heavy ogre's weapon was deflected, finding that his foe had startling agility as it leapt out of harm's way.

Still, while he'd not scored the hit he'd wanted, he'd managed in his secondary mission. Glancing down, he swiftly yanked Duo to his feet.

"They're a bit beyond you, baka. Don't think your spells are going to be much use."

"Shaddup!" the violet eyed mage snarled, before clasping his hands together and uttering a quiet arcane phrase. Eyes flickering with white flashes of energy, he unfolded his hands from the entwined fist they'd made and spread his fingers towards the solemn warrior before him. "Protection from Evil!" he finished, clapping his hands sharply. With a nod, he jogged over to the warrior's side.

"Duo! What are you..." Heero began, before staring in amazement.

The ogre had backed away, shielding its eyes and hissing.

"Good job..." Heero breathlessly finished, staring at the braided boy at his side.

Duo was grinning like mad. At least, he was grinning like mad until the lightning bolt cast by the rather irate ogre ripped right between himself and his partner.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei, meanwhile, was not having the grandest of times.

For some odd reason, their enemies had decided that he was a far grander danger and necessitated elimination far more than the rest of his companions. Meaning that out of the five that had descended upon them, three of the ogre mages had selected him as their target.

'Blasted voice probably had something to do with this,' Wufei bitterly thought as he thrust at the mage before him, shielding his face as the hot flares of the /Burning Hands/ spell washed over him.

**To your left!**

Obeying without question, he blinked in shock as his enchanted katana sank into flesh and the scream of a disembowled ogre mage met his ears, gargling upon the last word of a now incomplete /Death Fog/ spell.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa hopped quickly to the next tree within reach as the magically created bolts of light raced towards him.

To his shock, they changed direction, chasing him down.

He leapt down and pointed them out to Duo, interrupting the mage in his run.

"MAGIC MISSILES!" Duo screeched, even as he slammed face first into the ground.

Trowa fell flat on his back as both the force of the /Magic Missiles/ and the /Cone of Cold/ Duo had hit the forest floor to avoid slammed fully into his thin frame.

As he stared at the sky above, watching as its magnificent blue slowly faded to black, he barely noticed the visage of Heero standing protectively over him, growling at the mage who'd attacked him.

"That's enough," Trowa vaguely heard.

"Now it's time to get serious," the warrior snarled.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei spun sharply on his heel, swinging his blade in a beautiful bright arch before him. The ogre smartly brought its weapon to bear, abandoning its spell in favor of the blade.

Smirking, the Eastern warrior slipped his weapon neatly under the hastily lifted barrier, cutting the wretched monster's legs out from under it.

Flicking blood from his weapon as the creature wailed and howled, he observed the rest of the battlefield.

One ogre mage lay dead at Heero's feet, and its companion appeared to be soon following, having just had a dagger sank into its flesh and charged with Duo's most prominent spell, the electrical /Magic Missiles/ enchantment.

Trowa was slowly regaining consciousness, his injuries being less severe than they appeared, apparently.

They were going to make it.

Wufei cringed as he heard snapping in the woods around him.

Turning, he gasped as he spotted ten pairs of large eyes in the shadows that surrounded them.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

They'd fought bravely, but in vain.

Duo was hiding in the bushes as Heero had instructed him to do so, his spells exhausted and his dagger lost in the carcass of the last creature he'd been forced to fight by hand against.

Heero was fending off two creatures who stood nearly double his height, being pounded every few minutes by the flat of a blade. So battered and bruised was the warrior that he could hardly lift his arms anymore to bring his bracer to bear as a shield or heft his sword into usage.

Wufei stood upon a veritable mountain of corpses, but still fought valiantly, his supply of monstrous foes nowhere near its end.

And Trowa attacked from the shadows as effectively as he could.

Unfortunately, he soon found it to be veritably impossible to do such when the woods are choked full of foes still pushing and shoving to get at the foes who resided in the clearing that served now as a battlefield instead of a campsite.

He crumpled neatly under the knobbed, thick end of a well-wielded club.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei, Heero and Duo all stared as Trowa fell.

And they continued to stare as every ogre, mage or not, who was attacking them suddenly grasped their skulls, screaming with agony and unrivaled pain. Several collapsed, their eyes rolling into their skulls and their hands twitching and clenching so tightly as to cut the flesh of their palms as they foamed from their sharply toothed mouths blood-laced saliva. The rest raced down the only beaten path that lead from the clearing to the main road, screaming and crying.

The flash of a silver arc swiftly disposed of every monster who was desperately vying for escape.

Duo lightly laid a hand upon Trowa's shoulder, having walked over to him as he noticed him stirring, and helped him upright.

All eyes rested upon the black-cloaked figure that walked silently and easily into their carcass-littered camp.

"Well, that was certainly exciting, wasn't it?" the shadow-enshrouded form said before mightily yawning, lifting a slender and pale hand free from the interior of the billowing cloak to cover a mouth made invisible by the darkness cast upon it by the hood drawn over its face.

Trowa blinked with a start. 'That voice...'

Wufei's eyes narrowed. 'That scimitar...'

_He watched as the shadows of feathery wings burst into being on either side of the young woman who stood amongst the gentle flowers, and stared as once more that gleaming curved scimitar whistled as it swung downward, tearing through her body, ripping it into delicately shredded paper scraps that floated upon an ethereal breeze._

The warrior shivered as the image coursed over his eyes, even as the acrobat staggered to his feet, only one word being uttered from his lips:

"You...!"

_tbc..._


	8. Chapter VII

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam Wing or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; /spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Everyone stared at the black figure that stood in the center of the only path leading to and from the small corpse-littered clearing they stood in.

Wufei's hand tightened its grip on his katana, the already beaten and bruised skin of his knuckles splitting and oozing red vitae.

Trowa blinked, staring at the form ahead, his mind twirling in circles about in his skull, the recognition of that light-hearted yet cruel voice bounding happily in his brain.

Duo and Heero just stared at the new intruder, trying to consider what to do about this new and interesting situation.

And everyone blinked in shock as the pale hand they'd previously viewed lifted to throw the heavy hood away from the mysterious person's head.

On cue a cool breeze whistled through the forest trees, rustling the green leaves under the morning sun's gleeful rays.

Lifting the gaze of brilliant topaz eyes, the young, pale-skinned human boy smiled cheerfully as the romping wind tossed his platinum blond hair about his face. "Didn't think you'd see me again, did you?"

Trowa promptly fainted. Whether from the shock of seeing the boy or the bombardment of two concussions given by the meaty hands of ogres in rapid succession barely minutes ago is irrelevant. He still fainted.

And Trowa's fainting incurred one of the most unexpected of responses from the boy.

He tromped over to the still body and kicked him sharply in the ribs.

"HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO ENTERTAIN ME WHEN YOU'RE DROOLING ON THE FOREST FLOOR!"

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa winced as he sipped his soup from his travel mug. Not only did his head ache like it'd been beaten on by ogres (which, of course, it had), but his side was killing him as well. Why, he didn't know. And he didn't dare to ask.

Sip. Ah, it was good broth this afternoon.

Focusing on the flavor of his broth, he steadfastly tried to ignore the bubbling and brewing situation to his left.

Bubbling and brewing like his soup.

Yum.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei glowered.

The boy smirked, his narrowed eyes reflecting no single shred of kindness in their azure depths.

"Why have you been tormenting me?"

"Why do you ask me about your personal mental torment?"

"You are the one causing it, aren't you?"

"Why do you suspect me?"

"Is it not your voice I hear?"

"Perhaps, you think, it could be someone imitating my voice?"

"But that doesn't explain how well the attitude of that dream voice and your attitude match, now, does it?"

"Maybe they've been studying my behaviors, neh?"

"You're dodging my questions, aren't you?"

"Am I?"

"Will you quit answering my questions with questions?"

"Will you quit questioning me?"

Wufei clenched his fists.

"Are you going to split the skin on your knuckles again?"

Gkkkk.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo plopped down beside Trowa, smiling as he refilled his friend's mug. "There ya are, buddy."

"Thanks."

"So, Trowa, mind telling us what you know about that kid?" Duo asked, inclining his head towards the person who was still grinning madly at Wufei, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the Eastern warrior was about ready to snap his thin neck in two.

Sighing quietly, Trowa let his gaze fall upon the boy once more, and nodded slowly. "He's Vincent VonWinner's son. He's the one I was hired to entertain while we were still in Waterdeep."

"Ah. Very interesting." Scratching his chin, Duo's violet eyes narrowed slowly, his gaze turning from playful to critical.

"What are you thinking, mage?"

"That he doesn't resemble Lord VonWinner in the least. And that there's no way someone of that apparent age could be a son of that antiquated geezer."

Nodding, Trowa slurped at his soup. "Still, that's who he claims to be. Lord VonWinner."

"And his first name?"

Trowa shrugged. "Lord."

Duo stared as a single sweatdrop rolled down the side of his face.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

"So, he had no relevant information?"

Duo shrugged, his stance completely at ease even under the critical glower of Heero Yuy. "Aa. Nothin' at all, ol' buddy of mine. Apparently he knows just as much about this kid as any of us do. Save maybe Wufei. He seems to know something, judging from the number of questions and the quantity of information he's prying for. 'Course, YOU can be the one to question that psycho about what he's figured out."

Heero simply smirked. "Wufei's nothing to be afraid of."

"Fuck that! I saw that guy rip the arm off that hill giant last time we were together and beat him to death with it. I ain't messin' with somethin' like that."

Chuckling, the brown-haired warrior shook his head. "You are ridiculous, baka."

"Yeah, and? That doesn't matter right now, hun."

"Aa."

Both men stared at the seemingly friendly blond, who was now apparently poking Wufei with a long, pointed stick.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei, frankly, was ready to snap.

His fingers were still clenched, his finely cut fingernails cutting crescents into his palms, staining his skin red.

His teeth were gritted to the point that Trowa, who was riding the horse at the rear of the small party, could hear the enamel grinding from time to time.

His hunched shoulders shook from time to time with breathless, manic chuckles that were still putting Duo's hair on edge.

Poke.

"Neh, will you cut that out?" Duo growled, glaring at the boy who rode behind Wufei upon the mighty black steed the Eastern boy had chosen.

"Nope. With Trowa out of commission, I've got to find something else to entertain me amongst you dull, boring dunderheads, haven't I?"

"Can't you find something else to do?"

Duo immediately regretted his words as the boy turned sparkling blue eyes towards him, his grin widening.

'Oh shit...'

Heero was forced to physically separate the fighting bundles of bodies moments later, extracting his flailing lover from the pile that had been created by his horse mystically having been blasted out from under him.

The boy was perfectly fine, even after having been drug from the back of his horse and seemingly punched a few dozen times.

Duo was much worse for wear, the topple from the horse and the fistfight he'd started with their 'savior' really showing.

And, with wild cackles, the blond boy walked onward, leaving Duo and Heero to stare ponderously first at him, then at the fallen horse.

Duo knelt before the whimpering animal before grimacing and thrusting his dagger through the base of its muscular throat, killing it instantly.

"What...?"

"No saving it, Heero. Kneecaps..."

Both stared at the animal's legs.

The legs were lacking kneecaps.

"Like they were blown up by magic... but he didn't cast."

Wufei simply muttered under his breath as he eased his horse past the grisly scene.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero and Duo glared simultaneously at the guard who was currently warding them off with a halberd.

"Explain this again."

"I'm sorry, sirs, but with these times of troubles and unlawful mercenaries roaming the roads upon us, we can not allow any to pass these city gates after nightfall."

Wufei shook his head. "How many times do we have to prove our validity?"

Bowing his head, the guard shook his head. "I do apologize, sir, but even your rank as a Commander of the Guard of Waterdeep as you prove by your sword doesn't grant you access. I have been instructed by the Magistrate of the City to allow none to pass after the sun settles into the western lands."

"CRAP!" Duo snarled, kicking at the road in disgust.

Trowa simply bowed his head. "We can camp outside of the gates, can't we?"

The guard nodded. "So long as it is not within 500 paces of these gates, it is permitted. Such land is beyond our jurisdiction."

"Alright. Understood."

Wufei nodded. "I suppose it is acceptable."

"Aa," Heero grunted.

"Dammit, another night on the hard, hard ground," Duo whimpered.

"Hmph! This is ENTIRELY not acceptable."

Bowing his head, the guard sighed. "But such are our la..."

"Take me to the magistrate. Now."

"Sir, I can't do tha..."

"Why are we still standing here?"

"Because, sir, I ca..."

"NOW! Chop chop!" Pale fingers snapped impatiently.

"But si..."

"Don't you 'But sir' me! I want to speak with him, and I want to speak with him now!"

Trowa, who'd dismounted during the conversation, gently grabbed the blonde's arm. "Please, Lord VonWinner, it's just one night..."

The guard visibly paled. "V... VonWinner...?"

Turning, the blond smiled viciously. "Haaaaaaaai."

Gulping, the man quickly laid his halberd upon the ground and dropped to his knees. "Forgive me, m'Lord! If I'd but known your identity, there'd been no troubles. Please, please have mercy upon this poor humble guard. I shall have you escorted to our finest Inn immediately!"

The adventurers blinked.

Lord VonWinner smirked.

"Fine."

The guard sighed.

"But I still want to see the magistrate."

Gulp.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa, Duo, Heero and Wufei were sitting in one of the two tavern rooms they'd been provided, staring at one another.

"It's clear we can't trust this person, neh? At the least, his attitude towards us shows this, neh?" Duo blinked, twiddling his thumbs.

"Aa. And I doubt he'll be leaving us any time soon. His delight in tormenting Wufei will most likely keep him around for quite some time."

Wufei audibly groaned.

"But we should keep an eye on this kid. Can't trust him."

Trowa nodded. "I agree with you, Duo."

"He's not staying with Duo and myself," Heero snorted. "He'll have to room with Trowa and Wufei."

"WAIT A SECOND!" the Eastern man snarled, rising to his feet. "I will NOT share a room with that little... twit!"

"Oh, c'mon, Wufei, it isn't all that bad, is it?"

"Say that one more time, and I'll gag you with your braid, you flaming moron."

Heero snorted. "He's not staying with us."

"And why the hells not?"

Prussian eyes narrowed considerably. "Because it's been 9 months, 3 weeks and 2 days since we were last left on our own without one of you prying idiots in our business."

Everyone silenced themselves.

"Rabbits. I still swear they were homosexual rabbits in their last life."

Trowa nodded agreement with Wufei's observance.

"Oh, you're just jealous 'cause you ain't gettin' none," Duo quipped, sticking his tongue out.

"The room is suddenly reeking with maturity."

"Shaddup, Trowa!"

"ANYWAY," Heero snarled, "we have yet to figure out the situation."

Trowa shrugged. "I'll get a separate room. Let Wufei remain in his precious isolation."

"And just where are you going to get the money for this?"

The green-eyed acrobat grinned.

"Don't worry about it."

Duo slapped his forehead. "If we have the attention of the guards on our heads tomorrow morning, I'm going to strangle you and use your skin for spell scrolls."

"Hai, hai."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa groaned, rolling over in his bed.

His arms were aching. Namely because he'd been juggling coins for the last hour.

Tens of coins.

Reaching to the low hundreds of coins.

He suddenly loathed coins.

Still, Lord VonWinner was amused. Hell, he was amused enough to tell him his first name.

Trowa smiled into his pillow as he wrapped his aching arms around it, shifting under his thick, plush blanket.

"Quatre... nice name."

Rustle.

Trowa was instantly on his feet, his hands gripping the dirks he kept on his person (or under his pillow) at all times, his eyes scanning the corner nearest the huge window that occupied the room's eastern wall.

Standing perfectly still for minute on end, he stared.

His patience was rewarded.

The person hiding in the shadows moved, its figure barely made visible by the soft glow of moonlight that filtered through the flimsy white drapes.

With a flick of his wrist, the acrobat let his dirk fly.

He gasped as it was caught by a black-gloved hand and hurled back at him.

Rolling on the ground, Trowa instantly sprang back to his feet, charging towards that person in the shadows, following it as it leaped out of the window.

He didn't have time to catch sight of the black figure that had lingered, entirely undetected, at the foot of his bed and which had decided to stay behind in his room.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

KABOOM!

Duo staggered away from the raging fire produced by his flung /Burning Hands, shielding his eyes from the heat and light cast by the blazing flames. "Got 'em!" he chocked out to his companion.

Heero, however, was already gone, the sound of his boots echoing from down the hallway as he ran to check on their companions.

Pounding on Wufei's door, he waited a few moments, listening to the unnerving silence that poured from behind the wooden barrier.

He punched the door open.

He found the room completely empty.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa's palms were slicked with sweat, making his tenuous grip on his dirks harder to maintain. Swallowing, he narrowed his eyes, attempting to shield his pupils from as much light as possible with his eyelids.

His enemy was still before him, blended nearly perfectly into the shadows that occupied its wall, holding blackened weapons just as he gripped his own.

They were at a perfect stalemate.

Resisting the urge to twitch or flinch as he felt a bead of sweat trickle along his hairline, Trowa slowly shifted his weight onto his left foot.

He tried his damnedest to ignore the crackling of the ledge that he was standing upon.

Suddenly, his breath was meeting his ears and his lungs had leapt into his throat.

The shelf of the building he was balanced so precariously upon had given way.

As he slammed into the unmerciful ground and rolled with his fall, he tumbled right into a pile of trash that clanged noisily, its metallic clamor echoing beautifully down the alleyway he was in. Lifting his head as quickly as he could, giving himself a decent case of vertigo with the action, he cursed as the knowledge that his enemy would have escaped hit him.

Then he saw the body.

A strong hand gripped his arm by the elbow and hefted him to his feet. "Can you stand?"

"Aa..." Trowa grunted, rubbing his head."

"You'd best hurry back, Trowa. That was the second one I've cut down this night."

"Second...?"

"The first was from MY chambers. I noticed the sound of your chase outside and decided to join it."

Trowa cursed before turning on his heel and running back towards the Inn. Hearing his companion's footsteps by his side, he simply questioned without turning his head, "You think there'll be more?"

"Most decidably. The one who attacked me was hardly as skilled as the one you were chasing... common tactic, sending your weak links after those you aren't focused upon to keep them distracted."

_tbc…_


	9. Chapter VIII

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam Wing or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; /spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Trowa staggered up the stairs of the Inn as quickly as he could, his emerald eyes focused steadfast upon his goal - the large, looming door of his room, beyond which the chaotic crashing of battle and clanging of metal upon metal rang.

As Trowa dived desperately for the handle of his room's door, Wufei, who was hot on his heels, tore past him to the room occupied by Heero and Duo, his katana snaking sharply out of its sheath and glistening in the dim torchlight that filled the recesses of the abandoned hallway.

Both men burst into the two respective rooms simultaneously, weapons already brought to bear.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei burst into the room, barreling right into a steady, stable figure that was positioned before the orifice he came through. Both persons fell with grunts and thuds, meeting the hardwood floor harshly.

Instantly, the Eastern warrior was on his feet, his katana racing down towards the lump that had shielded him from the floor. The sharp blade met its target with a sickeningly wet thud, projecting a spray of blood from the point at which it connected across the floor and the young man's previously pristine white pants.

Glaring coldly at the body at his feet, Wufei lifted his blood-streaked sword.

"Reinforcements! Finally!"

Glancing over, Wufei's eyes widened.

Duo was crammed behind the room's footlocker, apparently having been thrown to that area judging by his unique position. Insane and moronic as Wufei was of the opinion that Duo was, the teen wouldn't be one to throw himself over a chest as to have his rear sticking up in the air, completely unguarded, and his face probably buried into the floorboards on the other side, one hand under his body and the other flailing to his side to attempt to grab something with which to right himself.

Heero stood before the footlocker, his notched sword glistening with mystical flames that ran along its edge, tracing its deadly edge with delicate precision. Shifting the blade slowly between his hands, he kept his glare firmly upon the remaining three black-clad attackers who occupied the center of the room, now firmly trapped between the two warriors, facing two identical grim and determined looks and two vicious, glistening, apparently magical blades.

Both warriors took a step towards the intruders.

"Surrender," Heero growled, holding his blade before himself.

"Never," one of the three snarled, her voice harsh and cold. "We will not leave it unfinished. We will die before such."

"Before what...?" the boy asked, arching an eyebrow over a Prussian blue eye that shone with confusion.

Wufei simply narrowed his eyes. "Hn. Heero."

"Yes?"

The trapped attackers stood their guard, even as the warriors spoke around them, shifting uneasily as the two boys closed in on them with their deadly weapons still brought to bear against their shortswords and daggers.

"Kill them. Their mission, no matter how much I may want its completion, isn't honorable."

"Really."

"Unless you consider assassination honorable."

Two of the remaining three instantly fell as katana and broadsword swiped from their guarded positions, slicing through warm flesh.

The final black-clad rogue lifted its hand.

The warriors screamed their battle cries, leaping forwards to cut the miscreant down where it stood.

And they narrowly avoided crashing into one another as the object they were attacking vanished.

"What the...?"

Duo lifted his head, and glanced over, finally having righted himself. He snorted quietly. "On your guard, you guys."

"Why?"

"That was /Blink/. He's not far."

Heero nodded, standing ready, lifting his sword again. Slowly tilting it, his lips moved with the whispering of an unheard word.

As the notched sword in his friend's hand flared with lively fire, basking the room in mystical light, the Eastern boy narrowed his onyx eyes and observed the corners of the rooms.

"Not here."

"Sure 'bout that?" Duo muttered, gathering his senses and marching over to the circle of protection inadvertently created by his companions.

Closing his eyes, Wufei sighed. "Close, though. You're right about that."

"You looked up recently?"

Gkkk.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa tore into chaos.

Immediately, the acrobat had to struggle to keep his footing as he traipsed through a veritable carpet of corpses. Coming to a halt, he stared with wide, horrified eyes at the mess.

Black-clad bodies littered the floor. Or more appropriately, pieces of black-clad bodies littered the floor.

Trowa shook his foot, finding it difficult to keep his reflex to yelp under control.

There was something about standing on a dismembered foot that set him on edge.

His eyes slowly followed the grisly trail of amputated limbs, intestines, and bloody rivers and pools to the center of the room.

The clang of metal striking metal once more instantly snapped his attention to where it was most needed.

And, charging with a procured longsword in hand, the acrobat leapt into the forefront of the small battle that was taking place between the delicate blond and three gigantic warriors.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo, Heero and Wufei tore like madmen as quickly as they could down the stairs, attempting to reach the bottom floor of the building without killing themselves.

Of course, their motivation in the form of fifteen fighters clad in black with long, pointy swords chasing them as quickly as they were running was pushing them to stretch the limits of safety, causing them to barrel down the stairs quickly enough to make mothers across the entire Realms cringe in horror.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Duo whirled on his heel, throwing a small wad towards the base of the staircase.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing, Max..."

"FIREBALL!"

Kaboom.

"...well."

The two warriors stared in complete and utter disbelief as the ball of orange flames that had burst into being sent bright tendrils of fire racing along the wooden walls, rails, stairs and ceiling of the Inn, incinerating everything in their paths including the screaming warriors who just moments ago had possessed the advantage in the battle they waged.

Duo grinned as the screams of the dying struck his ears.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa lunged, his face set in a grimace of determination as he sank the sword to its hilt into the gut of the person before him.

He then let his eyes close, letting the sweet and soothing darkness of unconsciousness seep into his brain to envelope him.

"Trowa!" he heard a sweet, quiet voice gasp behind him.

Bonk went Trowa's forehead upon the floorboards.

Thin, pale hands lightly caressed his cheek. "What were you doing!"

"Protecting you," he muttered, casting a weary smile at the boy who hovered over him.

"But... you..." the boy started, staring with what could only be described as horror at Trowa's beaten body.

"Only a flesh wound."

The blond closed his eyes, a small smile upon his lips. "Asswipe."

Trowa sighed, smiling.

"This means I'm going to have to wait 'till you heal to have you juggle for me again."

Nod.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo just stared, his smug look of complete satisfaction dissolving into one of complete horror.

"Um... whoops?"

Wufei rubbed his forehead. "Good damned job, Duo."

Heero's attention was focused up the road. "The guards are coming."

"SHIT!"

"Of course they'd be coming," Wufei's nasal voice growled. "We just gave them a bright, glowing orange area of disaster to come investigate."

"Hey, like I was supposed to know it'd be like that!"

"You studied that spell for HOW long? And you cast it without knowing its effects! AND YOU NEVER BOTHERED RESEARCHING THE EFFECTS?"

Heero lightly laid his hand upon Wufei's shoulder, stopping the man's forward progression towards his braided lover, glaring at his friend. "He didn't know. No reason to try to kill him."

"Hmph. You get to explain this to the guards, then."

"I will."

"And have you bothered to remember that Trowa's still up in that Inn?"

Duo gulped.

"Whoops."

"Yeah, 'Whoops.'"

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

The four marched with downcast eyes. The fifth was, thankfully, unconscious and laid upon a stretcher and therefore unable to be humiliated with his current situation.

"Again."

"Hey, I said I was sorry! It was my first time actually getting a Fireball to work!"

"Moronic homosexual rabbit."

"This is ENTIRELY UNACCEPTABLE! GET ME MY SERVANTS! I'LL TAKE YOU ALL TO THE MAGESTRATE!"

The guard just rolled his eyes as he shoved the chained and shackled teenagers into their jail cell for their night's stay.

_tbc..._


	10. Chapter IX

Review reply:

GundamPilot03: Thanks for reading! As for Quatre's 'evil' attitude, it'll be explained a bit later – hopefully you read that long. (little laugh) Thanks for the review again, and hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; /magical spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Heero calmly flexed his fingers, trying to keep them warm and flexible despite the pressing cold that surrounded him. Lifting his wrists once more, the blue-eyed fighter nodded.

'Iron shackles. And fairly cheaply constructed ones at that. I could easily break these. However...'

Turning his gaze, he glowered at the cell door.

'There's still that to deal with. Plus the sound of these pieces of crap breaking would draw the guards down upon us.'

"Why not try the window? You could bend those bars and grant us all freedom before they could even open that door."

Heero took deep, slow breaths, attempting to calm his racing heart that had all but leapt into his throat at the unexpected sound. Closing his eyes, he grunted softly, "I thought you were asleep."

"No. But everyone else is."

Quickly peering at his companions, Heero nodded. They were, indeed, asleep.

"So why not utilize the window?"

"You know that I was contemplating escape. How?"

With a quick smug smirk, the blond shrugged. "My little secret. Nothing to concern yourself over, Heero."

Snorting, Heero let his bound hands rest in his lap once more, playing carefully with the end of the braid he found there. Watching Duo's sleeping face, he knitted his brows. 'His 'little secret,' eh? Seems eerily familiar. Almost like... Like...'

'Hmph. All the more reason not to trust this 'Quatre.''

"I don't care if you trust me or not. I just want you to answer my question; why not utilize the window?"

Narrowing his eyes, Heero lifted his glare to set it upon the blonde's angry blue eyes. "Perhaps because utilizing the window will force us to leave behind the weapons we own which are being held on the other side of that door."

"And so?"

"I prefer to have my sword before me when I face whatever awaits us out there."

Sighing, the blond shook his head. "Poor untalented fool."

"Maybe."

Glancing back over, Quatre frowned. "So, how are you truly planning to escape?"

"I don't know yet. Give me some time."

"I don't like waiting."

"Tough."

Huffing, the blond turned away from the brunette fighter and returned to laying upon the cold cell floor. Stretching his bare arms and drawing them forth from the folds of his cloak, he wrapped them around the prone body he was slowly yet steadily snuggling against.

Shifting, the newly magically healed Trowa draped an arm over the VonWinner child, drawing him closer to his body all the while snoring contentedly.

Heero arched a brow as he saw Quatre smirk before proclaiming the lanky sleeping acrobat to be a 'goofy dimwit' and nuzzling his neck.

His eyes rested upon the sight for a few moments longer as he attempted to discern exactly what the flash of silver he'd seen wrapped around the blonde's upper arms was before Trowa inadvertently blocked his view with an ill-timed dream-inspired hug.

Shrugging, the warrior returned to playing with Duo's braid, ignoring the soft whimpers of his nightmare-ridden Eastern friend and the loud snores of his green-eyed adventuring companion.

He focused, once more, on the door.

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"Neh, you're certain you don't need any help?"

"I'm certain."

Duo narrowed his eyes, his gaze remaining firmly set upon his lover's face. He quietly huffed, "Be careful, Heero."

"Aa."

Casting his penetrating stare back over the small rag-tag group, Heero nodded. Trowa was indeed fully recovered thanks to the magical aid of the jail's clerics who'd worked to preserve him for questioning. Duo worried with his shackles, eager to remove them. Wufei stood calmly by the window, his hands loose and stance easy. And Quatre stood beside Trowa, his eyes frigid and empty.

'Worthless boy. He's going to either hinder us or bolt.'

Turning away from the gathering, the blue-eyed man flexed his fingers, listening to his knuckles popping with satisfaction.

'Personally, I hope he bolts. He's annoying.'

Heero quietly whispered, "On 'three,' Wufei."

"Ready."

"One."

Both men approached their destinations, Wufei stepping to the window, Heero to the heavy wooden door.

"Two."

They raised their shackled hands as one.

"Three."

The snapping of breaking metal chains rang through the still atmosphere, catching the ears of the guards even as sounds of bending, straining metal and shattering wood emanated from the small cell. Donning their shortswords, five armored men raced towards the cell of the racket's origination.

Heero Yuy bowled right through them before they had the chance to draw their weapons.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei glowered out of the window.

"It's only a thirty foot drop. We can manage, Barton."

"But what about Quatre?" Trowa said, a frown taking his lips as he regarded his raven-haired friend.

"Let him fend for himself."

"What's your problem with him?"

Glaring, Wufei growled, "I don't like the way he toys with us. I don't like the trouble that's found us, thanks to him. And I especially don't like that supremacy attitude of his." Seating himself upon the window's ledge, gathering Duo into his arms to aid the young mage with the jump, he snorted. "That boy can rot in Gehena, for all I care!"

Trowa frowned as he watched the agile warrior fall and land with cats grace, sweeping himself and the robed, braided man into the nearest conglomeration of shadows that existed and vanishing instantly.

"Damn him," Trowa hissed softly.

"I'll be fine."

Turning, Trowa arched a brow. "You certain?"

Quatre smirked. "Don't underestimate my abilities as that dingbat moron has, clown. I can hold my own."

"I'm sure you can..."

"You doubt me?"

Trowa shrugged.

"Fine. Then watch, child."

"Child?" Trowa whispered, before he charged in a panicked fright for the window, having seen Quatre slip between the bent bars and take a flying leap.

"QUATRE!" he cried as he stared at the ground, his heart already all but stopped with the expectation to see a smear of pale pink flesh covered in black cloth and topped by blond splattered across the cobblestone.

A foot taped him upon his head.

Glancing up, he stared, his dropping jaw accompanying widened eyes that thoroughly belayed his shock.

"Yo."

Troaw's gaze barely caught Duo's manic bounding and wildly flapping lips as he apparently spoke rapidly to Wufei. Out of habit, the acrobat's mind deciphered what the mage was saying, reading his message off his lips.

'"He didn't cast."'

'"It's not magic."'

Emerald eyes blinked.

'It isn't magic...?'

He barely had the sense of mind to tumble and land safely on his feet as the boot that caught him upon the back of his head sent him flying out of the window accompanied by wild laughter.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero was huffing and puffing exhaustion when he finally caught up with the small group in a forest clearing due South of the town they'd just escaped. "There you are," he grunted even as he dropped the large bundle he'd been carrying over his shoulders, "just as planned. Let's distribute these quickly before the city guard catches up with us."

Merrily rooting, each adventurer quickly grabbed his pack and weapons, taking a few moments to give their precious weapons an appreciative kiss before stowing it.

Equipment having been regained they once again hit the trail, walking steadfast to the south.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa slowly opened his eyes as the distant conversation caught his sensitive ears.

"You know the answer already, mage."

"Pity. Then I've truly no choice, have I?"

Blinking, instantly awake, Trowa sat upright. 'Who...?' Eyes quickly roving over the campsite, he nodded. 'Not Duo. He's dead asleep. So who's Quatre talking to... Where is he?'

Trowa quickly sought him out.

And, upon seeing him, he stared.

'That's...!'

Standing upon the top of the small hill who's side they'd made camp on, Quatre had his arms crossed tightly over his puffed-out chest and his glacial blue eyes narrowed, the fires of murderous hatred all that warmed those icy spheres. An elderly man faced him, his posture identical to that of the boy before him, chocolate brown orbs glowering from beneath bushy white eyebrows, one of which was obscured by a waterfall of gray-white hair.

'Lord Vincent VonWinner! When did he get here? And what's he doing this far from Water-'

A gust of wind blew past.

'...deep...?'

Trowa blinked as he got to his feet.

'What the hell?'

The breeze of the night picked up once again, blowing long auburn strands of bang across Trowa's vision. He watched as Quatre's soft blond hair was tussled wildly, as the loose breeches he wore flapped unceremoniously and the huge black cloak that hung around his frail- looking shoulders caught the wind and billowed grandly behind him, leaving his thin yet shapely arms exposed to the night for once. Blinking, Trowa peered at the expensive jewelry that he'd previously not noticed - the large amulet around his neck, the twin platinum bands that were snuggly fit upon his upper arms. And then Trowa watched the elderly opponent of the boy.

The man's wild white hair and cascading robes didn't stir once as the wind raced by.

Sneaking to Duo and Heero's blanket, Trowa poked one of the two unidentifiable lumps that were cuddled in the warm safety of its wool folds.

Duo's head popped up. "What?" he growled, yawning loudly and smacking his lips as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"What is that?" Trowa softly whispered, pointing to the top of the small hill.

"Some old dude and Quatre."

"Duo..."

"WHAT!"

Slapping his hand over the mage's mouth, sweating as he saw the other form under that blanket shift, he grunted, "The wind doesn't affect the old man, yet he's present enough to hold a conversation with Quatre. What is it?"

"What did you say...?" Duo whispered through Trowa's fingers, his eyes popping wide open.

"That he isn't affected-"

Duo had already burst free of the blanket, leaving a thorougly confused acrobat and two equally confused, newly awakened warriors in his wake.

"What was that about?" Trowa gruffly whispered as he snuck to Duo's side, accompanied by Heero and Wufei, both of which were like Trowa in naught but their breeches and both of which unlike Trowa had a sword in his right hand.

"Duo?" Heero softly whispered after the young man failed to respond to Trowa's question.

Being completely immersed in spellcasting, Duo didn't reply. Rather, he slowly lifted his hands while quietly chanting and cracked open his eyes.

With a muted scream, he fell on his rear, his hands covering his eyes. "Fuck!" was all he screeched.

"Duo!"

Immediately Heero was on his knees, holding the mage to his chest in a protective embrace as Trowa and Wufei hovered nearby, intent on offering whatever assistance they could.

"What happened?" Wufei asked, his onyx eyes wide and his voice betraying worry he'd always sworn he'd never feel.

"Magic..."

"What?"

As Heero slowly pried Duo's hands away from his face, the braided man blinked rapidly. "/Detect Magic/ spell... makes everything magical glow. How bright depends... on how powerful..."

The three companions stared at the mage's completely constricted pupils.

"I can't fucking see..."

Turning as one back towards the odd couple at the hill's toup, Duo still in Heero's arms and now with his face buried in the warrior's muscular chest and oblivious to the world, they stared.

The image of Lord Vincent VonWinner's voice drifted to their ears.

"It will be an interesting end to my studies of you, discovering what happens to your kind when murdered on the Prime Material. Farewell then, sweet Quatre. You will be fondly remembered."

Everyone save the blond boy gasped.

The image slowly faded, even as rumbling filled the air.

Turning upon his heel, Quatre stared at the four adventurers before charging towards them. Leaping, he grabbed Trowa's arm and began to try and drag him down the hill. "Come on!" he yelled.

"What's going on?" the acrobat asked, staring with complete confusion at the blond.

"Don't ask. Just run!" Tugging at Trowa's arm, Quatre glared at him. "Come on!"

"But the others... Duo can't run. He can't see. And Heero won't lea-"

"Screw them! Let's go!"

Glaring at the small boy, Trowa yanked his arm out of Quatre's grasp. "I'm not leaving them. If you're so frightened, run and hide, but I'm staying."

Staring at him, his blue eyes wide with shock, Quatre's mouth hung slack. Pulling his mouth closed, he glowered at the acrobat, his eyes filling with tears.

"if you die..."

Trowa arched a brow.

"... it's not on my head."

Trowa sighed as the blond turned and ran into the night.

"What does he think he's escaping from?" Heero snorted from his seat, even as he drew his hand along Duo's hair.

Wufei gulped.

Lifting a finger, he pointed.

"That."

Everyone, including the mage who's sight was barely beginning to return, stared in horror at the huge mass of white which was slowly cresting the hill.

A huge mass of white that rattled with each step and stank of decay.

"Undead."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

"/MAGIC MISSILE/"

White dust exploded into the air, instantly being swept away by the now howling wind. The skeleton toppled, its form collapsing into a heap as the scant remains of its skull scattered themselves upon the grass.

"I'm out," Duo groaned, letting his hands fall and his robe sleeves slide back over them.

Heero immediately stepped before him, fiery sword held aloft. "Then stay between myself and Wufei. We'll protect you."

Duo nodded, hiding behind the warrior's billowing cloak.

They were completely and utterly surrounded.

_tbc..._


	11. Chapter X

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; psychic power

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Trowa immediately yanked his dagger out of the skeleton's skull, listening to the satisfying crunch of crumbling bone as metal slid out of organic material. Immediately hitting the ground, he flattened himself to the dirt, hiding in the knee-high dried grass that littered the side of the small hill they'd made camp on. Clutching his dagger tightly, he silently slid through the grass towards his ensnared companions.

Duo, meanwhile, hid behind Heero, clutching the warrior's cloak with trembling hands as he watched hordes of the undead creatures stomp aimlessly towards them.

Heero clutched his sword with a weary sigh, his limbs trembling with exhaustion from the long rounds of battle he'd already fought through, his sweat stinging as it traced scratches and gouges that laced his body.

Wufei stood by his friend, katana loose in his hands as he stared blandly at the gathering approaching them. "Prepared, Yuy?"

"Always prepared to meet Tempos."

Wufei chuckled lightly under his breath, nodding. "Fabulous. Then let's have at them."

Nodding, Heero turned slightly to glance at Duo over his shoulder. "As soon as we distract them, run."

"No..."

"No questions. Just make for the bottom of the hill, and the woods beyond that. You'll be able to hide."

"I won't leave!"

Heero narrowed his eyes, glaring coldly.

Sighing, Duo slowly nodded. "Fine. But if you get killed..."

Wufei rolled his eyes. "Without you in the way, we won't get killed."

Duo choked on his biting retort, glowering at the Eastern man with hatred in his eyes.

Turning a touch more, Heero lightly pressed his lips to Duo's cheek. "He means that without worrying about your welfare, I'll be more effective. Not that you'll get in the way."

"Hmph." Crossing his arms, Duo snorted.

Wufei turned away, smirking as he clenched his weapon. "That sure as hell didn't sound like what I meant, Yuy."

Heero snorted as he marched to his friend's side, holding his weapon to bear, giving it a slight shake and watching with satisfaction as glistening flame dribbled from its edge. "Shut up, Chang. I'm trying to get him to go. If you continue to insult him, he'll hang at our sides to prove that he isn't useless as you always claim he is."

"I always say that to push him to try and prove me wrong. Reverse psychology."

"I understand that, but right now I don't want him getting killed."

Glancing over, Wufei snorted. "He's not leaving."

"Then we should meet our enemies before they get here."

"Charge?"

Heero nodded.

And with wild war cries, the two soldiers charged, swords held aloft, into the gathering that wandered towards them.

The clang of metal meeting metal filled the air.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo watched, sighing quietly as the pair rushed their foes, leaving him standing alone on the side of the small hill all alone. Crossing his arms over his chest, he watched the chaotic battle erupt.

He failed to notice the zombie that was rising behind him, sword upraised and drooling mouth open, fangs glistening in the pale moonlight.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa burst out of the weeds, sinking his dagger with an upwards thrust through the chest cavity of an ambling ghoul, his lips twisted in a grimace of disgust as rotting flesh splattered over his hands and boots. Turning, he stared.

He'd been spotted.

Lifting his hands, dagger dangling between his fingertips, he gulped as he watched the three living skeletons that had seen him approach, rusted longswords in bony hands.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero and Wufei panted, standing back to back, using one another not only as shielding for their backs but for support. Bloodied and worn, both were on the verge of collapse.

Lifting one hand to quickly wipe blood from his eyes, Heero snarled, "Doesn't look good."

"Hmph."

"It's that blond kid's fault. He brought this on us."

"Didn't stay to help, either."

"Bastard."

"Damned right."

Heero just clutched his sword.

"Duo's about to get attacked."

"Nani!"

"Look."

Glancing over, Heero stared with horror in his eyes. And, with a harsh gulp, he realized that there was no way he could battle his way through the fifteen foes that stood between him and his braided lover.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo turned and stared at the zombie that stood behind him. With a screech, he staggered back a few feet before stepping on the hem of his robe, sending himself immediately onto his rear.

The zombie's rusted sword whistled over him, having been aimed for his neck.

Then it suddenly burst into flames.

Duo stared with wide eyes as the zombie let out an eerie, ethereal scream, staggering away from him as its very structure began to flake away in ash, the sword it clutched in its clawed hand melting onto its bones.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero stared at the sight as well.

"What the hell did he do!"

"Dunno, Chang."

And Heero failed to realize until it was far too late that he was being attacked. His face smashed into the grass as a clawed fist clipped the back of his head, sending him sprawling over the ground.

With a string of depraved curses directed at Lord VonWinner and his lack of ancestry, Wufei charged over to defend his fallen friend.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa ran for all he was worth.

The three skeletons chased him as quickly as they could, rattling as they raced after the nimble thief.

He glanced over his shoulder. 'They're closi...'

And watched as they suddenly vanished.

'ing?'

Walking over to where he last saw them, Trowa stared at the ground with wide eyes.

They were marbles.

Three glistening crystalline blue marbles, sparkling in the moonlight, each with an eerie, screaming skull superimposed in its center.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei snarled as he slashed at yet another foe, listening to it crunch as it crumbled from the force of the blow he'd landed into its bony body.

Then, his eyes snapping open, he looked to his left. 'What the hell...!'

Immediately, the warrior dropped to his knees, ducking the swiping blow of the zombie that was aiming to take his head off his shoulders, and sprawled over Heero. Closing his eyes harshly, he concentrated for all he was worth upon one feature in his mind.

He placed a Tower of Iron Will over both of them.

And he stared in complete shock as everything around him exploded.

With a sharp yelp, he threw his arm before his face to shelter his eyes from the flying fragments of bone that were flying.

'Detonation...'

'He's here...'

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa lightly tapped one of the marbles with the toe of his boot.

"Well?"

Turning, he stared. Then blinked. Then stared some more.

"I haven't got all day, acrobat! Start juggling!"

With a ghost of a grin, he picked the sparkling, creepy orbs up. "As you wish."

The blond crossed his arms, a satisfied smile upon his face as Trowa started whistling a happy circus tune while sending the marbles into a fascinatingly fast-paced juggle.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero grumbled as Duo tightened the bandage he was wrapping around his head.

"Stop being such a damned baby, you wuss! If we don't bind it up, you'll just lose more blood. And it may get infected and get gangrene and then we'll have to peel the flesh off your face or something gnarly and gross like that."

"Or just sever his head."

Glaring over, Duo snarled, "Didn't ask your damned opinion, blondie."

Quatre simply smirked before turning back to Trowa and applauding his continued juggling.

Turning back to Heero, Duo sighed quietly. "Hold still."

"I AM holding still."

Smiling, he lightly kissed the grumpy warrior's cheek. "Try to do so a little harder, lover. I can't bind you while you're squirming."

"Hn."

Wufei, meanwhile, simply finished pitching his tent. Turning towards the others, he shook his head, grabbed his pack, slipped into his own tent and decided that trail rations would be better than waiting for five hours for the mage to stop playing with his lover and make something.

Also, having the blond back in the camp was a bit unnerving.

Especially considering that demonic little smirk the boy was giving him every moment he was standing outside with them.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa sighed quietly as he put the marbles down. "The others have turned in. May I break for dinner now?"

"Hmmmm..." Quatre scratched his chin, his eyes narrowed coldly as he glared at the acrobat. Then, with a quick and happy smile, he nodded. "Sure."

"Thanks, Quatre."

Arching a brow, the boy snorted. "When did I give you permission to use my name?"

"Uh..."

"What the hell... you and only you, 'kay? I'll have to kill your companions if they dare."

Trowa arched a brow. 'And he says that with the friendliest little smile on his face, too... He's one weird kid.'

"I'm not weird. I'm special."

Twitch went the muscles in Trowa's face as he desperately tried not to laugh.

Turning, the blond started rooting through Trowa's traveling pack, his own having been 'conveniently forgotten down the road.' Grabbing something, he held it behind his back as he approached the acrobat.

Trowa blinked as he was smacked across the face lightly with a bag of trail mix.

"Thought you were going to eat."

"Oh... yeah." Taking the proffered package, he sat down upon the ground and broke it open.

"What IS that crap?" Quatre asked as he plopped down next to him with a heavy grunt.

"Trail mix. Bread, pretzels, nuts."

"No chocolate pieces?"

"Not rich enough to afford that. Plus it doesn't keep as well on the road."

Quatre pouted. "But trail mix is no good without chocolate pieces."

"Sorry."

Trowa stuffed a handful of trail mix into his mouth and chewed.

Then he nearly gagged.

He was chewing on a mouthful of solid chocolate.

"See? Much better, neh?"

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa finally finished off his canteen for the third time, trying to wash the taste of nauseatingly sweet chocolate out of his mouth. "Thanks," he gagged as he held the canteen out once again.

"Baby." Quatre smirked as he lightly tapped the canteen with his finger then screwed the top back onto it.

"Why?"

Arching a brow, the blond scooted over towards Trowa, kneeling beside him. "Why what?"

"Why did you return? I thought that you said that if we died, it wasn't on your head."

"Well..." turning away, the blond sighed quietly, his cheeks brightening a bit, "I changed my mind."

"Why?"

Quatre shrugged his shoulders.

"Because you care?"

"Because..."

Trowa nodded encouragingly, slowly reaching out and laying a hand upon the small boy's shoulder.

"You entertain me."

The heart that was nearly up in Trowa's throat with excitement plummeted back into his stomach. 'That's it...? I entertain him...?'

Quatre stared at his shoulder. Or, more appropriately, at the hand that laid upon his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Trowa breathed despondently, slowly drawing his hand away.

"You were touching me." Looking up into Trowa's eyes, the blond frowned. "Don't do that without permission. Please."

"Why not?"

"Because. Everyone other than you to do such dies."

Trowa's eyes widened.

"Just warn me... so I don't react without thinking." Nodding, the boy tromped over to Trowa's tent and crawled in.

Trowa simply stared.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero sat up with a snarl on his lips and his dagger instantly in his hands as he was roughly rolled about on the ground, sent to squashing his lover underneath his body, waking Duo as well who grunted and screamed for 'Hee-chan' to get the hell off of him.

"TROWA! What the HELL are you doing!"

"Sorry, Heero. Need the spare blanket."

Grabbing the acrobat's bangs, Heero growled, dragging Trowa's head down to the ground. "Why. Are. You. Stealing. My. Blanket?"

"Quatre took mine!" Trowa whimpered pathetically into the dirt.

"Then take it BACK!"

"But..."

Letting Trowa's face rise a whole inch out of the dirt so he could breathe without inhaling gravel, Heero snorted. "But what?"

"He's cold."

"And SO?"

"I... don't want him to be uncomfortable?"

"Why not?"

"Because..."

"Because?"

"I... think I'm falling for him."

The crickets' loud chirping echoed through the suddenly still night.

"NANI?"

Wufei tumbled out of his tent. The deer in the woods fled in complete and utter fright. Somewhere, a green dragon burst into the air, having been startled out of its gourd. Squirrels keeled over from terror-induced heart attacks.

And Quatre happily snored on, hugging Trowa's pillow, drooling onto a corner of Trowa's blanket.

_tbc..._


	12. Chapter XI

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; psychic power

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Duo rubbed his eyes as he crawled out of the tent he and Heero shared at the crack of dawn.

"Neh, anyone seen Heero?" he muttered with a hefty yawn, staring around the camp.

The camp was nearly completely empty. Quatre was the only other inhabitant, sitting calmly by the campfire and whittling away at a piece of wood with one of Trowa's daggers.

Glancing over, the blond nodded. "He and Wufei headed out about an hour ago with Trowa to fetch breakfast."

"Oh." Grimacing, Duo stared at the blond boy. 'Gee, just what I want. A morning alone with Mister Sardonic over there. Fabulous.'

The blond paid no attention to him, continuing to whittle away happily, smiling as the dagger continued shaving piece after piece of wood from the block he held tenuously in his left hand. He paid not a bit of attention to the mage as he plopped down beside him.

"What'cha doin'?" Duo asked, looking at the nearly shapeless block in the boy's hand.

"Carving something."

"What?"

"None of your business."

Duo rolled his eyes. 'Should've expected that. Little unsocial bastard.'

Still, there was nothing better to do than watch and no one else to talk to besides him. Duo mentally groaned. Yet, with a shrug, he continued watching.

Two hours later, the other three adventurers had yet to emerge from the woods below and the block that Quatre held had begun to take shape into a beautifully detailed bird.

"Hey, you're really good at that," Duo commented, nodding. "I wouldn't think that the son of a Noble of Waterdeep would have any ability like that."

"Son...?" Quatre whispered quietly, staring at the bird he held as he lightly traced over it with the dagger's tip, adding further detail to its delicate feathery wings. Turning to Duo, he blinked a couple times before smiling. "I got incredibly bored in my Father's house. Seeing as how I wasn't allowed out very often, I had to come up with things I could do within its confines to keep my mind off of my isolation."

Duo arched a brow. "Not allowed out, eh? Why not?"

Quatre shrugged. "My dear father's wishes."

And, grinning wickedly, Duo reached over Quatre's shoulder to snatch the bird out of the boy's hands. Listening to him gasp then growl in annoyance, he grabbed the boy's chin, wrenching his face towards him and staring straight into his eyes. "You can quit lying any time now, 'Lord VonWinner'."

Quatre snarled, "Unhand me!"

"Not until you tell me the truth, kiddo. You know that I've got you figured. So stop with the little charade, and tell me what's up between you and Archmagus VonWinner."

The blond stared at him, before narrowing his eyes once more.

Duo screeched, letting the boy go, as his head was hit violently from behind. Looking behind himself, he stared.

There was nothing there.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo watched the woods worriedly. The sun was near it's noon peak, and still there was no sign of his companions. "Damn it. Where the hell are they?"

"Tough hunting. Undead scared nearly everything away."

Glancing over his shoulder, the mage frowned. "You sure about that?"

"Yep."

"How?"

"I am."

Rubbing his head, Duo walked over to the blond and sat down beside him upon his black cloak. Staring at the boy, he frowned.

Quatre had finally removed his cloak, and was sitting calmly upon it, using its black fabric as a high quality blanket to save his khaki pants and brown boots from the dusty ground below him. Completely shirtless, he basked in the sunlight, his pale skin beginning to show signs of sunburn.

Duo's eyes, however, were more on the delicate armbands that the boy wore than anything.

They were thick, solid bands of silvery metal that he recognized to be more precious than platinum - a metal known as mithrel, laced with tracings in adamantite that formed runes of power around its span. Duo's eyes critically traced over the bands, his brain seeking desperately for the identification of each of those runes.

'Spell absorption. Recognize that one. Mind shielding... Contingency? Hm. Interesting. Alter self, too. And a shocking grasp or vampiric touch spell... something like that... urm...' He frowned. "Those are really interesting, Lord VonWinner. Think I can look 'em over?"

"No."

"Oh, come on!" Duo sighed with exasperation. "I won't steal them! Gods, Trowa's more likely to do that! I'm not going to hurt them. I just want to look at them."

Snorting, the blond glowered at him. "I'd hand them over if I could."

Duo stopped his ranting tirade and blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Why don't you take a closer look?"

Duo leaned forward, staring at the boy's arms even as Quatre drew a whetstone out of his pouch and started sharpening the dagger he'd been using to carve his wooden figurine. And, with a hiss, Duo stared.

He'd finally noticed the bolt that was welded solidly into the center of the band. Leaning over, he stared at the other side and nodded. Sure enough, the other end of that bolt was welded to the other side.

'What the hell... that's one way to hold something permanently on, I suppose, but isn't it a bit extreme?'

"It actually goes all the way through?"

The blond slowly nodded.

"And you can't remove it? Certainly you can cut 'em off..."

Duo stared as magical energy cracked when the boy reached towards the band upon his left arm. "I touch it, I get electrocuted."

"What the hell...?"

The blond bowed his head. "It's... a gift. A gift from my father. And we'll leave it at that."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero, Wufei and Trowa triumphantly returned from the woods, tromping up the hill back to camp, each holding a good bundle of rabbits

"This ought to keep us into the next town, neh?" Heero said with a smirk.

"Provided your lover doesn't fuck up and turn them into charcoal like he did with the last batch," Wufei sniggered.

"That was entirely accidental. It's not like he meant to ruin an entire day's hunting."

Trowa just shook his head as the argument between the two warriors escalated. Looking up the hill, he smiled as he caught sight of their two other companions seated by one another. Picking up his pace, he walked past his friends, making his way swiftly through the grass.

Duo looked up and grinned. "Ya, Tro! Finally back, eh?"

"Yeah," Trowa said with a smile as he sat down beside Quatre. Reaching out slowly, he arched a brow. "Is it OK, Quatre?"

The blond nodded.

Smiling, the acrobat laid his hand upon Quatre's shoulder, giving it a tender squeeze. "How are you doing?"

"Fine."

And, as they continued conversing, Duo smiled and stood. "I'll be leaving you two love birds alone now."

"Thanks," Trowa said with a nod.

Quatre simply glanced over before returning his attention to Trowa.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo muttered curses as he sat by the campfire, holding a rabbit on a spit over the flickering flames. "Why do I always have to be the one to cook?"

"Because when you actually don't burn it, it's damned good."

"Shaddup, Wufei!"

The warrior smirked, shaking his head before returning to his conversation with Heero. "But as I was saying, leaving him behind would be our best option. He's doing nothing but bringing trouble down on our heads, and we have no need of such."

"I heartily agree with you. The only thing is that we have a problem so far as Trowa is concerned. To leave behind that annoying blond may be to leave him behind as well."

"We can do quite well without him."

Duo snorted. "I ain't leavin' Tro behind. Sorry. But he and I have been traveling together forever, and I am NOT about to leave behind one of my friends."

"Understandable. However, do you want that blond to stick around?"

"Not really," Duo muttered, turning the rabbit over to bathe its topside in flame.

"It's unanimous between the three of us, then. Little Mr. Sardonic must leave."

Heero snorted in agreement. "The sooner we can leave him behind, the better. I know not how many more battles of that calibur that he seems to draw to his person we can make it through. Plus, seeing as how he does nothing more than run from said battles and leave us to deal with him, perhaps it is fair play that he should be forced to deal with his own problems every once in a while."

"Agreed."

Duo sighed, staring at the rabbit. 'But... he wasn't all that bad this afternoon. He was actually calm and...'

'Sad.'

'Makes me wonder what's really going on with him...'

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Quatre sighed, his eyes closed as Trowa held him.

'They don't want me here, eh?'

Slowly retracting the Contact he held with the mage, making certain to do so carefully and slowly as to not be caught by Duo's sharp senses, Quatre scowled. 'They want to be rid of me.'

'Hmph. I don't care about them, then! I don't need them.'

'They want me gone? Fine. I'll be gone by morning.'

'Let's see how they deal with that. Bastards!'

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa slowly opened his eyes with a tired yawn. Lifting his head, he looked at the bedroll that laid beside him in his tent where the blond had settled down for the night. "Good morning, Quatre," he whispered, leaning over to peer at the roll.

It was empty.

Trowa burst out of the tent at a run, looking around wildly before heading over to Heero, who was already up and practicing with his longsword.

"Heero! Quatre... he's gone!"

"What?" Heero stared at the acrobat.

"He's gone."

Heero frowned. "He left...?"

"Apparently."

Shrugging, the warrior returned to swinging his sword. "Fine."

Narrowing his eyes, Trowa glowered at his friend. "You don't care, do you?"

"Not particularly. In fact, I'm rather glad. This should reduce the amount of trouble we run into. The boy seems to be a monster magnet."

"Bastard..."

Heero shrugged. "Cry me a river. I'm glad he's gone."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei and Duo stared as Trowa roughly jammed his belongings into his bottomless pouch.

"Neh, Tro?" Duo called quietly. "Sure you won't reconsider?"

"I'm going to search for him. With or without you."

Wufei snorted before laying his hand upon the mage's shoulder. "Come along. If he wishes to strike out on his own, let him."

"But Wufei..."

"Leave him."

"But...!"

Rustling echoed through the air, emanating from the grass around them.

Everyone stared in complete and utter shock as lances surrounded them in a tight, secure circle.

"For the crimes you have committed against the celestial, consider yourselves to be under arrest!"

The four adventurers blinked.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

"Our clan elder will speak with you on the morrow about what you have done."

"DAMMIT!" Duo screeched, lunging for the elven guard even as the waif man closed the door to the room the four companions had been escorted to. "But what the fuck are you talking about! What crimes? What celestial?"

"He'll question you about it tomorrow."

"COME ON, PECKERHEAD! WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

"Be quiet."

"IYA!"

And, as the elf walked away from the cell, Duo's voice rang through the night, screaming:

"WHY CAN'T WE SPEND ONE FUCKING FORTNIGHT WITHOUT GETTING THROWN IN JAIL?"

_tbc..._


	13. Chapter XII

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; /magical spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Duo's large violet eyes slowly swept their gaze over the picturesque landscape that hovered just outside of his open window, glistening in the sparkling and pure white light of the freshly full moon. The large trees that surrounded them, filled with nightingales, veritably buzzed with energy as their leaves stirred and shivered with the passing of the slightly chilled night breeze that whistled soothingly through the forest. The small huts, placed so deliberately upon the strongest limbs of the largest of those trees, shined with the lights of life and merriment, glowing warm with the orange bask created by warm fires. In the distance, light and happy laughter of many persons could be heard floating upon that gentle breeze, speaking of the calm and security of this small, beautiful city of the woods.

Heero watched, his eyes betraying nervous worry as the delicate breeze brushed through Duo's long bangs, brushing that chestnut hair across his round cheeks. And, calmly lifting his hands, the Prussian Blue eyed warrior plugged his ears as Duo slowly and deliberately wrapped his hands around the bars of their window and pressed his face into the opening between those hard steel rods.

"WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG! LEMME OUT! LEMME OUT! LEMME OOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT! NOW! NOW! NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW N-"

"Many thanks, Barton."

"No problem, Chang."

Heero watched Duo with apathy in his eyes as his longhaired lover flopped about on the ground, eyes burning with rage as he inched around like a humongous worm, hands and feet bound behind him with strips of his own robe and gagged with his braid.

"Sorry, Duo. I think they'd kill me if I let you up."

One of the mage's eyebrows twitched.

"I'm going to be sleeping alone for a month, aren't I?"

Nod.

"But Duo...!"

Glare.

Sigh. "Yes, dear."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo snorted, crammed into his own little corner of the room that just happened to be as far from his companions as he could possibly get. 'Rotten bastards! Hmph!'

A knock on the door startled them all.

"The magistrate will see you now."

"Fabulous," Wufei sighed. "We can finally see what this is all about."

The guard at their door cleared his throat. "Please pick one representative."

Heero glared at the large wood door that separated him from the guard. "Why can we all not be heard?"

"Just pick a representative, human. He does not wish to meet with more than one of your foul design!"

Silence fell over the room, until Trowa nodded. "We pick Chang."

"Why not Duo? He's an excellent speaker, plus his lack of ability to hide what he's thinking should clear us of this illusory guilt they've placed over us," Heero said.

"We need someone who can reason," Trowa said.

"Hmph."

"And someone who could possibly alter his opinion of us, if you understand my meaning."

Heero's eyebrows both lifted. "Ah. Excellent thinking," he said, smirking as he turned to face Wufei. "You know what to do, neh?"

"Of COURSE I know what to do. Just leave it to me."

"Fabulous."

Walking over to the door, the Eastern warrior looked at it calmly as it creaked open, revealing an elven sentry in full chain mail armor. "I will represent us. Please, lead the way."

"Follow me," the lithe man said with a nod before turning on his heel and walking down the hall.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

"Crimes against the Celestial. Whatever do you mean by that?"

The elderly elf arched a brow as he looked at the warrior who stood before him, eyes narrowed and arms crossed over his chest as he glowered indignantly down at him. 'Strange. /True Sight/ isn't giving me much information. Apparently he isn't lying about his lack of knowledge.' And, finally stirring out of his reverie of staring, he shook his head. "Then you know not the identity of the celestial we speak of?"

"I've no clue what you're talking about at all, sir. I know of no celestial. And I'm certain that if I had ever met or known one, it would have made certain that I was well aware of it, whether it was a simple Trumpet or something so grand as an Archon."

"I see. Then you are claiming that you should be released due to your obscenely lacking amount of knowledge in this matter?"

Gritting his teeth, attempting to not insult or spit fiery rebuttal against the elven magistrate even through his ridicule, Wufei let his shoulders slump. "Yes."

"That's so ridiculously propo-"

KABOOM.

The elderly elf nearly fell over as he bolted out of his chair in pure shock as the loud explosion roared through the atmosphere and shook the humongous tree his office and the prison were both balanced in. Holding his desk as the tree swayed and yet another explosion sounded, he stared at the smoke that wafted into the room.

Wufei failed to panic. He simply rubbed his forehead, his teeth still gritted and a growl in his throat.

"Maxwell no baka!"

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo laughed happily as he ran down the forest path as quickly as his feet could carry him. Heero and Trowa flanked his sides, looking far more sober and serious than the nearly hyper mage.

"That was actually rather impressive."

"He's been practicing, Trowa."

"Yes, but still..."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to doubt him?"

Duo giggled, listening to the conversation taking place behind him even as they all ran desperately to make it out of the now suddenly very menacing forest that surrounded them. "Wonder if they appreciated that /Fireball/..."

Heero smirked. "Probably about as much as they loved that /Stinking Cloud/ you released into woods to cover our escape. You probably killed a few of their precious fuzzy forest animals with that noxious shit."

"Can't help it. It's the way the spell goes," Duo cackled.

"Perhaps something a little more subtle?"

"Oh yes! Watch as I cast /Mass Invisibility/ guys! Woo hoo! I outta slap you for saying that, bastard."

Heero just grinned as he followed the mage, his quickly wielded procured elven sword swiping an arrow fired from a hidden bow in the woods around them from the air before it could get close to him.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa sighed as he stared at the woods that rested once again downhill from their location, sitting upon the very spot where his tent had previously been stationed.

Walking over to him, Duo shoved a canteen into his hands. "Watchin' for Wufei?"

"Hn," was Trowa's complete reply as he took a sip of water before returning the skin to the mage.

"He'll be awhile. Gotta fetch all our stuff before he can blast his own way outta there, you know."

"Of course."

"You're about as good at holding a conversation as a dead chipmunk is, you know?"

Plopping down beside Trowa, Duo crossed his legs and rested his hands in his lap. "You mind? Hee-chan's scouting an' made me stay here. Told me that if I move more than fifteen feet away from you, no nookie for a year. And that bastard'd hold to it, too."

Trowa shrugged. "I don't particularly care."

Duo sat in silence for awhile, just watching Trowa.

Trowa astutely ignored him, his focus being upon the woods he and his friends had escaped from barely an hour ago. 'That's the direction he probably went. Otherwise I'd have been able to spot him from the top of the hill when I looked over the plains. It's not hard to spot a platinum-blond head in a green grassy field that spans as far as the eye can see.'

'Unless he used that... what was Wufei calling it...? Psionics... unless he used that to escape.'

'But why would he think that he'd have to escape from us? The others are rough around the edges and may not like him at all, but they wouldn't harm him. And...'

'I wish he were here.'

"You're worried about that kid, aren't you?"

Trowa's pounding heart settled back into his chest where it belonged after he got over the start of Duo's voice bursting uninvited into his daydreaming. "What?"

"About that VonWinner kid. You're worried."

The thief nodded. "Of course. He's out there on his own..."

"He'll be fine. I know it sucks for him to be alone and that he's probably lonely as hell and that we do need to find him to at least keep him under supervision, but he seems to be one powerful little squirt. 'Member what he did to those ogres?"

"Yeah."

"But that doesn't mean that we don't chase after him, right?"

Nod went Trowa's head.

"Listen," Duo said with a sigh, turning his gaze away from Trowa and towards the woods below, "I know that we weren't the friendliest to him. And that he was probably being a sadistic little shit towards us because him bein' psi an' all meant he could fuckin' sense that we were annoyed with him. But that doesn't mean that we don't want to find him."

"Heero told me-"

"Ignore Hee-chan. I'll change his mind."

Arching a brow, Trowa glanced over at the smiling mage. "Why are you so anxious to find Quatre?"

"Oh hoh! So his name is Quatre, eh?"

Gulp. "Don't tell him you know if we do find him."

"Eh, it's alright. Anyway, why am I so anxious to find him, you ask? Maybe 'cause last time I actually got to spend some one on one time with him, I was startin' to get the impression that he's really not that bad of a guy. That maybe something in his past really fucked him over and drove him batty, 'specially seeing how he talks about his supposed 'father' like he was some sort of inquisitionist or torturer or somethin'."

"'Supposed'?"

Duo's smile became a smirk. "That kid ain't no son of Lord VonWinner's."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because the times don't line up. Quatre-kun ain't 40. Can't be VonWinner's boy, seein' as how four decades ago is the last recorded time Lord VonWinner was seen in the company of someone of the opposite sex. And he don't look like VonWinner's kid. And..."

"And?"

"His entire mannerism gives him away. He's NOT VonWinner's son."

Duo closed his eyes.

"Anyway, I was really hopin' to talk with him some more. Find out what's REALLY goin' on between him and the ol' man. And, with what I saw last time I talked to him, I'd really actually like to find out if there's anything I might be able to do to help..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Because I think that underneath that bitchy little attitude is a really sweet kid who's just been broken by how fucked up life can be at times. And if he is as I think he is, maybe, just maybe, there's somethin' I can do to help."

Trowa returned his gaze to the woods, a ghost of a smile crossing over his lips.

'Duo's going to help, eh? That means that inevitably Heero will, too. And Wufei... seeing as how he's practically exiled from Waterdeep and is now in the veritable middle of nowhere, he really doens't have a choice but to accompany us.'

'We'll find you, Quatre.'

'And maybe then I can get you to love me, too.'

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero glanced around nervously, his hand upon his sword.

The air around the small hill he, Duo and Trowa were once again stationed upon didn't feel right.

"What's eating you, Yuy?"

Heero nearly dropped the elven-made blade he'd stolen from their last prison guard as he jumped away from the voice and rounded even as he landed, bringing the weapon to bear against his 'enemy.'

Wufei arched a brow and smirked.

"You! I hate it when you do that!"

"Hmph. Want your blade back or not?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Handing Heero's pack over, Wufei just shook his head. "It was one hell of a hassle getting all of this back. You all owe me."

"Fine, fine. All hotels for the next fortnight are on us."

"Good."

Returning to the acrobat and the mage, the two warriors began to set up camp.

A loud, snarling roar echoed through the air around them.

Freezing, both Heero and Wufei found their hands already drawing their weapons. Duo collected himself from where he'd fallen on his face in an instinctual attempt to hide under his taller companion and looked nervously around even as Trowa froze solid, his hands already on the hafts of his daggers.

The roar sounded again, noticeably louder and closer.

Everyone looked up as they heard the beat of enormous wings upon the air above them.

Green scales flashed in the bright moonlight as the huge dragon dove towards the small party, jaws parted, white fangs glistening in the light of the night and the noxious fumes of its breath weapon gathering within its gaping maw.

_tbc..._


	14. Chapter XIII

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; /magic spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

The green dragon roared, its voice deep and resonating as it echoed across the land. Dark emerald scales glistened in the pure white light of the moon, sparkling like gems in the night. Dark ivory claws and fangs veritably glowed against the dark curtain of star-pierced shadow that crafted the eve; dark red eyes glimmered viciously as they stared at the ground below, at the party of adventurers huddled and waiting. Stretching its claws, opening its massive jaws to fully bare its giant fangs, the mighty beast wrenched its huge body towards its target beating its huge leathery wings one final time then slapping those long devices to its sides. Inhaling, letting its breath swirl with the juices its body produced within its mouth and throat as it plummeted, the dragon prepared to unleash its might upon its intended prey.

"Holy fuck, it's a Great Wyrm!" Duo screeched as he hit the ground, arms hurriedly burying his head. "We're all gonna die!"

"Everyone run! It's going to breathe!" Heero shouted, gripping his sword tightly in his right hand as he ran toward the mage.

"No time," Trowa groaned, watching with wide eyes as the dragon craned its neck back. He quickly threw himself onto the ground and threw his arms over his head to shield himself even as Heero buried Duo protectively under his body.

The area was quickly bathed in noxious green gas, its billowing fumes swirling around the small gathering of adventurers.

Heero gritted his teeth as the dragon's wretched breath bathed him, the gassy tendrils caressing his flesh, its acidic touch seeping into his pores and burning his flesh. Blinking, hissing as the gas stroked his eyes and flooded his nostrils Heero coughed. Shortly he regretted that action as he drew a breath and immediately started choking on the horrible cloud.

Duo, face buried in the soil and Heero's body shielding him, still felt the effects of the dragon's attack. Choking as he writhed under the warrior, the mage sank his fingers into the grass.

Trowa laid perfectly still, his eyes closed and his breathing slow and clam to allow his lungs to acclimate to the poisonous air. His fingers slowly slid down his sides to his daggers, blindly yet skillfully gripping them and drawing them forth from their sheaths. Focusing on his hearing, he listened carefully for the sounds of his companions and of their gargantuan attacker. And with the echo of another roar coupled with the distinct crackle and explosion of /Magic Missiles/ accompanied by two coughing voices, he was able to quickly construct a mental image of his surroundings; Heero and Duo were about ten yards behind him, coughing and gasping for air in the remnants of the dragon's breath attack; Wufei was twenty yards before him, as determined by the sounds of his always explicit and creative cursing when the /Magic Missiles/ spell apparently found him as their target; and the dragon was flying swiftly towards them once again as judged by the increasing volume of its distinctive wing- flapping.

'Chang's holding it on his own!' the acrobat mentally squeaked as he gritted his teeth. Trowa burst to his feet and snapped his eyes open even as his hands flew forward, daggers drawn and released into flight within the merest blink of an eye.

Three of the four blades struck true, sinking hilt-deep into the dragon's armored hide, their magically imbued metal slicing easily through thick hide and flesh to jamb themselves directly into the joint where right wing met body, locking that limb solidly into place.

Screaming in murderous rage, the monster dropped from the sky and managed to land firmly on its feet.

Trowa shook as the beast turned towards him, eyes gleaming viciously.

The dragon's head jerked up and turned away as the clang of metal striking its formidable hide rang through the night. Snarling, the beast bared its fangs. With blinding speed, it struck.

By sheer luck, Wufei staggered back, barely dodging the monster's thrusting jaws. Trowa drew his last dagger and charged from the rear, even as Heero sprang into a flat run, flaming sword in hand and a battle cry upon his lips.

Duo lifted his head. Eyes glazed, he slowly blinked in a vain attempt to clear his vision. His skin still burned viciously as did his eyes, and breathing caused him more pain than he had ever thought possible to feel and remain alive. 'It... it almost killed me. Just one breath.'

'Over two hundred feet long from snout to tail's tip. A Great Wyrm. A dragon who's seen over a millennia of life and is only now at its most powerful. A green, who's lust for evil is reflective of that of all Chromatic dragons, who's breath weapon is a corrosive gas that poisons all who are caught within it, causing just as much damage as a red dragon's fire, a blue dragon's lightning, a black dragon's acid or a white dragon's ice.'

'They've grounded it...'

'But we're still not going to win.'

Duo bit his lip, whimpering as the burning of the fumes that had caressed him continued, staring as his friends valiantly fought for their lives.

'Maybe I can sit this one out. With Wufei and Heero there, -'

Heero screamed as he was sent flying by a sweep of the humongous dragon's broad tail.

'Gkkk! Maybe not.' Bracing himself with his quarterstaff, Duo dragged himself to his feet. Reaching into his pouch, he gripped an amber rod and a strip of cloth. "/Lightning Bolt/ should do the trick!" he snarled with a smile.

Wufei, meanwhile, swung his katana once more. The great beast roared, snapping its jaws shut on the weapon. Snarling, it wrenched its head away - and screamed.

"What, dragon? Don't like the flavor of enchanted Blades of Sharpness, do we?" the Eastern man said, a sneer marking his words.

The dragon replied by rearing and bringing its huge, clawed feet slamming into the ground, nearly crushing the warrior while simultaneously sweeping its left wing out violently, clipping the charging acrobat with it and sending him crashing onto the ground.

Turning its head, spitting the blood that the mystical katana had drawn when it had tried to disarm the raven-haired man, it growled as it heard Duo chant. With deathly calm it opened its bloody jaws.

"NO!"

The green dragon's head turned sharply to its right as it spat its noxious breath weapon once more directly into the face of the blue- eyed warrior who's Flamebrand sword still jutted out of its flank.

Heero fell screaming and twitching as the dragon lifted one clawed forelimb to pluck the longsword from its side.

"/LIGHTNING BOLT!"

"/Blink/."

The gigantic dragon vanished but moments before the magically crafted spear of electricity reached it.

"No!" Duo shrieked. "It cast /Blink! Lousy cheating basta-"

"Duo, look out!" Trowa yelled.

"What?"

Turning, the mage gulped.

The giant dragon's wide-open jaws were racing towards him.

Duo shut his eyes. 'Heero... I'm sorry. I wish I could have been with you longer. But judging by how you fell to that gas, you and I may be joining one another shortly, neh? Neh... What the hell? I have yet to die?'

Cracking open one eye, the mage stared.

Trowa's last dagger was jutting out of the beast's left eye.

Thoroughly enraged, the monster turned its attention away from Duo and charged the acrobat who immediately ran for all he was worth.

Duo took the opportunity to stagger towards where he'd last seen Heero. Upon reaching his fallen lover, he immediately checked for a pulse.

'Good! Still alive. Beat to utter shit, but still alive. And Wu-'

He stared.

"Oh no..."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa ran as quickly as he could, coughing and gagging as he barreled through the beast's magically summoned /Stinking Cloud/ combined with its final burst of breathed gas. The only thing that was saving the acrobat any longer at this time was the heavy amount of damage Wufei and Heero had managed to deal the creature before they'd fallen to its attacks.

That damage, however, could do nothing to save him from the dragon's magic.

With a scream, Trowa was thrown to the ground as a burst of electricity from yet another swiftly cast /Magic Missiles/ spell struck him. As soon as he hit the grass, he instinctively rolled.

The dragon's crashing forefoot didn't entirely miss.

Trowa cried out in pain as the dragon's massive talon tore completely through his side. Closing his eyes, he prepared for death.

"Back away if you wish to live."

Emerald eyes snapping open, Trowa turned his head sharply to the left even as the dragon swiveled its massive skull to peer at the new perpetrator.

Aquamarine eyes narrowed, blond hair tussled by some unfelt wind, the boy glowered coldly at the beast.

Baring its fangs, the dragon growled, its deep throated grumbling forming into words. "Why do you interfere?" it hissed softly.

The boy arched a brow. "Because I don't want that man killed."

Its singular ruby eye narrowing, it snorted. "They have trespassed in my territory during the time of my hunt. Therefore their lives are under my jurisdiction, not yours! I care not what your mandates proclaim!"

"If you continue this, I will fight you. And I will destroy you. Mandates have nothing to do with this - this is MY decision. Therefore there will be no mercy."

The monster responded by applying more pressure to its foot, slowly crushing the acrobat.

"Quatre! Run!" Trowa cried as he vainly struggled against the dragon's god-like strength.

"No."

Turning hate-laced eyes to the sinister reptile, Quatre snarled.

"You're dead."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo nearly sobbed with relief as Wufei's onyx eyes slowly opened. His head and shoulders drooping, he smiled. "Thank the Gods that potion worked!"

Sitting upright, the Eastern warrior rubbed his forehead. "That one hurt," he muttered.

"No fucking kidding. You were damned near dead," Duo proclaimed. "Potions of Extra Healing sure are handy, neh?"

"You could use one yourself."

With a lop-sided grin, the mage shrugged. "Later. We've got an acrobat to rescue, neh?"

"Maybe not."

Duo glanced back at Heero, a brow arched. "What do ya mean, Hee- chan?"

Snorting at the indignation of being called 'Hee-chan', Heero shook his head before getting to his feet and pointing. "That's what I mean. Trowa already has assistance."

The mage stared.

"Quatre..."

Then Duo gasped as the dragon leaped, snapping its incredible jaws at the blond boy.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Quatre watched with unearthly calm as the giant dragon's fang-filled open mouth raced towards him.

"Stop."

Trowa stared, his mouth wide open, his eyes large with shock.

The mighty dragon stood as still as a statue, hissing and sputtering, its eye glowing in absolute hatred as the blond simply walked out of the way. Roaring angrily the beast burst into motion, its jaws snapping on empty air. Spreading its lone functioning wing in a desperate attempt to steady itself, it snarled, spitting, "/FIREBALL!"

Quatre stood completely unperturbed before Trowa as the huge ball of Hells-hot flame raced towards them. Trowa sweated visibly, his eyes huge. 'No!' his mind screeched even as his heart told him to prepare to die.

The fireball vanished.

Both acrobat and dragon gasped as the fireball struck the boy and dissipated into nothing, licks of flame dancing over his cloak. They both stared as Quatre calmly gripped his cloak with a thin, pale hand and shook it lightly, putting out the sparkling flickers of fire that so desperately tired to exist upon that fabric field.

And the dragon backpedaled while Trowa stared dumbfounded as the blond charged the reptile and smacked it soundly on its snout.

The great beast blinked a few times before snarling at Quatre. "What the Hells was that supposed to be, bastard?"

It was answered with a smirk.

Narrowing its eye, the dragon roared.

Quatre calmly pulled a dagger from the waistband of his breeches.

And Trowa stared, unable to scream past the lump that instantaneously appeared in his throat as the blond turned the dagger in his hand and plunged it into his own chest.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero, Wufei and Duo stared in silence as the dragon threw its head back, wailing in agony as it clawed at its unmarred chest before collapsing and writing. Screaming piteously, the dragon's head snapped forward, jaws closing on the blond boy.

The dragon roared in pain once again as it quickly released Quatre's body, head falling to the grass as the VonWinner boy collapsed.

"What the hells!" Duo whimpered, staring with tear-filled eyes. "What's going on?"

"Fate Link."

Heero frowned as he looked at Wufei. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Bowing his head, the raven-haired man sighed. "It's a power that an accomplished psionisist can utilize to tie his fate directly with that of another creature. Apparently, our little Lord VonWinner can use it, and did so to tie himself with the dragon."

"So when he stabbed himself, it was the same effect as stabbing the dragon?" Heero asked.

Nodding, Wufei smirked. "And the dragon clamped its jaws upon itself. The battle is over."

"Because if it kills the boy..."

"It kills itself."

"NO!" Duo screamed, rounding on his friends. "We aren't gonna let that happen, dammit! Don't you get it? He came back to help us! He came back to save us! We aren't just gonna let him lay there and die for us to get rid of our enemy, no matter how much you hate him!"

"Duo..." Heero murmured, staring at his longhaired lover in shock.

"We aren't!"

With that, Duo ran towards the fallen blond and the huge dragon as quickly as he could.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa crawled to the blond's still body as the dragon's breathing came to a halt.

"Quatre...?" he whispered, gently touching the boy's forehead, brushing platinum bangs away from the sweat-dampened skin, tears coming to his eyes as he felt the chilled condition of the small man's body.

With a groan, Quatre opened one pale blue eye.

The dragon failed to stir with him.

"Didn't I tell you to ask before you touch me?" he whispered, a wry smirk coming to his lips.

Trowa nearly sobbed as he cradled the boy's limp, bloodied body in his arms.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei calmly stared into the campfire's dancing flames as he sat on watch, listening to the breathing of his sleeping companions. A smile coming to his lips, he sighed quietly in relief as he had not had the opportunity to do for the entirety of the night.

'We all survived. Certainly we are injured and far from aid, but we survived. All thanks to that boy.'

'Maybe he isn't as terrible as we all labeled him to be. After all, he nearly sacrificed himself for us. Or, if not for us, for Trowa.'

'He can't be a completely heartless beast as we thought him to be. Not if he is so willing to give his life for the thief.'

He turned sharply as he heard the sound of running footsteps behind him.

Leaping to his feet, Wufei hurriedly ran after the fleeing figure until it vanished into the woods at the bottom of the hill, back into the elven forest he and his friends had so very recently escaped from.

"Why are you running!" he shouted into the woods, staring for any glimpse of the fleeing form he could find, frowning as he found his search to be fruitless.

"You don't need to run."

"Not any more."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

"He ran?" Trowa said with a sigh, letting his head bow as he listened to the crackle of the simmering breakfast shish kabobs broiling over the campfire.

"Aa. I tried to chase him down, but he was too quick for me."

"But he's heavily injured, right?" Heero questioned, arching a brow.

"No. He must be able to use Molecular Rearrangement. He could very easily heal himself, provided he has enough psychic strength."

"Oh."

"But why did he run?" Duo grumbled, grabbing his breakfast from the fire and sinking his teeth into it after blowing on it to cool it down.

Trowa sighed. "Because he doesn't feel welcome. I think it upsets him to know that we all don't approve of his presence."

Heero and Wufei visibly shrank under Trowa shaded glare, even as Duo bowed his head. "You're probably right. But... do you think he'll come back? I know I want him back. Maybe we can explain that it was a misunderstanding, ya know? Last time we were together, he wasn't all that bad. I just think that maybe there's something wrong with him that he doesn't want to share. Something so terrible and serious that it makes him bitter against everything and everyone..."

"You're probably right. But who's to know if he'll come back?"

Heero sighed. "We've effectively banished him."

And, sitting silently, Wufei glowered at his breakfast. 'Damn.'

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Staring at the light blue sky above, wind swirling around his thin form and tussling his platinum blond hair, Quatre sighed.

'I never thought that the world outside of Waterdeep would be more isolated than that horrible prison.'

'If this loneliness and hatred is all this world has to offer...'

'Why is it so loved?'

Bowing his head, he gripped his knees. And, as hot tears splashed onto his hands, he closed his eyes.

'There is no kindness here. No sympathy. No love.'

'Not even from them. And here I thought I'd find something in them...'

'I hate it.'

'I hate it!'

_tbc..._


	15. Chapter XIV

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; :psionic power /magical spell/

A/N 2: Gaw, I want to kill QuickEdit right now. (scowls at the previous note)

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Otto shivered as he hid behind his boulder, feeling the heat of the raging forest fire burning around him. Clutching his knees, he stared wildly to his side with fright as the woods around him burned, started to flame by no act of magic nor any spark of flint but rather by the very will of the person who was now screaming, standing in the middle of it, fists balled and eyes filled with rage as he stared into the heavens above.

"WHY? WHY, GODS! WHY CAN'T I JUST DESTROY IT ALL?"

Otto ducked his head as the tree next to him exploded, covering him in sharp wooden shrapnel. Biting down on his tongue, he attempted to keep from crying out lest he draw the vicious creature's attention down on himself.

"I HATE IT! I HATE IT ALL!"

Covering his head as more of the forest exploded, Otto eyed his escape route, wondering if he should run at that very moment or not.

'This is all I need.'

'He truly IS a threat to the Realms!'

The boulder behind him began to warm with the heat of fire. As Otto felt his clothing begin to smolder upon his back, he burst into a flat run from his hiding place, heading for the trail as swiftly as his feet could carry him.

'Gods, please oh please let me make it before he spots me!'

He could only have been so lucky.

Azure eyes narrowed coldly, watching as he fled. "And now you're going to report to another to destroy me? I think not. You've confirmed it - none of your kind deserve to live. NONE OF YOU!"

Otto flew through the air with a wild scream as the psionically projected force of a flung brick fist smashed into his back, launching him from the ground with the ease that a child flings its favorite Lincoln Logs.

The man groaned as he hit the ground, it feeling much cooler and stable than what he had expected it to. The gentle touch of the thick dark marble cooled his singed flesh, comforting him even as his body crumbled upon it.

He found himself staring at a boot.

"So, he truly is a danger. Very well. You have convinced me to help your Lord and Master in the task of prolonging the release of the poor creature's full power."

Otto glanced up, his bruised face finally filled with hope. "Elminster...?"

With a nod, the white-bearded archmage smiled. "You get some sleep. I'll have my healers attend to you, while I begin to ponder as to what exactly I should do about that irritable little child."

Otto heard no more.

He'd passed out quite thoroughly on the welcomingly cool floor.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

"Gods damn it all," Duo grunted as he slowly lifted himself out of his saddle by standing in his stirrups, "how far do you think he could have gotten by now?"

Closing his eyes, Wufei sighed. "If his mind was stable enough for him to utilize any power such as :Dimension Door: he could be thousands of miles from this place."

"Crap."

"If it isn't," the Easterner continued, "he's very likely within just a few miles of here."

"We could resume our hunt in the morning," Heero said with a nod.

"Aa," Wufei affirmed.

Trowa remained silent as they slowly pulled their horses off the road and began to unload the contents of their laden saddlebags, setting up a makeshift campsite quickly and effectively. The acrobat was finally sliding out of his saddle after Heero had a small pile of wood gathered and was fishing about in his pack for the flint and steel he always carried to start what was to be their campfire.

"Trowa, just get your tent set up. We'll take care of preparations for dinner," the brown-haired warrior called, glancing up from his tedious task of starting the blazing fire that was to be their source of warmth and cooking facility.

Nodding, the thief grabbed his tightly rolled tent and walked to an empty patch of grass to set it up.

After struggling with the unusually stubborn device for a few moments, he walked over to Heero. "Need any help?"

"Not at the moment. Thank you."

Duo bounded over and plopped down beside Heero, cuddling against him. "We'll be having dinner soon, Tro. Might as well sit down and relax; get the sting of sitting on a damned horse off your ass, you know? 'Fei's gone out hunting."

"Alright."

They all sat by the newly started fire, Heero fanning the flames gently to ensure that they take, Duo leaning against him, Trowa staring blankly at the wooden logs as they begin to support the small flicker of orange that would soon erupt into warming red fire.

Glancing over at his silent friend, Duo frowned. "Don't worry, Tro. He can't be all that far - we're probably right on his tail."

All the mage got in response was a tired nod.

Bowing his head, he glanced off into the woods. "Wufei better get back here soon; this depressing atmosphere is doing me no good without food to ward it off."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei returned in short time, baring the spoils of his short hunt - a squirrel, two rabbits and a large fat quail hen. Duo jumped up and down cheering before rushing over to grab the animals and clean them. Heero greeted the returning party member with a nod. Trowa remained at his station, staring into the flames.

"Good hunting, I see," Heero called out, gesturing for Wufei to join them at the fire as Duo absconded with his kills, cheerfully humming something about needing a knife and yummy yum yums.

"Aa," the raven-haired warrior said with a smile as he walked to the campfire and sat down beside his friend. "By the way, I've seen evidence that the boy is still in the area."

Trowa's eyes brightened a little by the proclamation as he lifted his head, dull green orbs focusing on Wufei. "Really? Where?"

"Due west. Direction we're heading. The forest is completely gutted."

"Gutted?" Trowa muttered, arching a brow.

"Aa, gutted. As in nothing remaining. Burned woods, exploded rock, overturned earth."

Heero frowned even as Trowa scratched his chin. "How are you certain it's him?" the acrobat asked after a short time.

"Because, his aura floods the destruction. An aura of rage and hatred and sadness and bitterness." Nodding, Wufei lifted his waterskin to his lips and took a small sip. "I've been experiencing the touch of that aura long enough to recognize it the moment I strike it."

"Then we should continue on! We can catch him tonight," Trowa blurted.

"No. We need to rest. As will he, judging by the amount of destruction he's caused - all that took a lot of strength out of him, and he will need sleep to revitalize himself. He cannot recover his psionic strength pool while running from us. Have no worries - wherever he is, he's not getting much further before we begin our hunt once more."

All three nearly jumped out of their skins as Duo popped back into their little circle and shoved sticks into the earth around the campfire, letting the flesh pierced by them dangle over the warm flames to bask in their heat and cook. "Dinner's on!" the mage cheerfully proclaimed, plopping onto the ground beside Heero once more and snuggling up against him.

"Hn. So we noticed," Heero replied, looping an arm around his lover.

Wufei and Trowa simply nodded to one another before the onyx-eyed man turned a wry smirk their way. "Want us to leave you be before you start humping like ravenous rabbits?"

"Oh, shut the fuck up! We aren't that bad!"

"Alright, alright. Like ravenous squirrels?"

Snort. "You're going to pay for that one, Chang."

"I'd like to see you dish out that threat, Maxwell."

Smirk met glower.

Smirk held glower for the better part of an hour.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

All lounged around the campfire, content and happy with hot foot in their bellies, slowly drifting off to sleep. Duo had agreed to take first watch, and was sitting with his back propped against a tree, yawning and stretching.

He leapt to his feet as he heard the crunch of a footstep from near his position.

"Alright, then, come out here you bastard. Don't make me hunt you down; that'll just piss me off."

Duo's violet eyes narrowed into deadly slits as he watched the elf emerge from the woods, his thin hands held at shoulder level and palm out in a sign of peaceful approach.

"What the fuck do you want?" the mage hissed, tightening his grip on his staff.

"Please, I come in peace. I come to warn you of the enemy who you are destined to face if you continue this quest for the being you seek."

"GUYS! GET UP."

The elf tried to clear the ringing from his ears as Duo's shout resonated through the woods.

The other three men at the site stirred. Immediately, two swords were drawn and one acrobat was slinking backwards towards the shadows, already letting their tendrils absorb him into their all-encompassing darkness.

"No, no no. He's here to talk to us about Quatre. 'Fei, need you to verify everything he's saying if you can."

"Don't you have a spell for that?" the warrior grunted as he sheathed his sword.

"Fuck no! That's a priest thing."

"Fine. I'll berate you on being worthless later."

With a grunt, Duo turned his attention back to the elf. "Now if you try anything stupid, Tro's already in the shadows waiting for you. He don't have any problem hunting down even your kind and taking them by surprise, got it?"

The elf simply nodded. "Might I put my hands down?"

As Heero lifted the last of his weapons away and deposited them well out of the elf's reach, Duo nodded.

Lowering his head, the elf sighed. "You're still seeking the being known by the name of VonWinner, aren't you?"

"Of course we are," the mage said with a nod.

"I would halt your search now. It has powerful foes after its hide, and associating with it will only bring disaster down upon you."

"Why are you warning us of this?" Heero demanded. "If he's such enemies against him, shouldn't you be urging us to find him and protect him?"

Wufei nodded. "After all, your people took us into custody over him I do believe."

Glancing over, the young elf sighed. "I know. And for that I am exceedingly sorry. But it can handle its foes on its own, provided there are none around it to interfere with the way it would accomplish such a feat. Its power is broad and well defined, well controlled and managed, but it can have problems isolating those it would care not to injure from those it would long to destroy. It is in your best interest to remain away."

With a snort, Heero narrowed his Prussian blue eyes. "All this does is solidify our longing to find him. Now, why don't you tell us what's going on concerning this boy, and how you know such?"

Sweeping his blond hair behind pointed ears, the elf shrugged. "I was brought in to Lord Vincent Marcus Alexius VonWinner's court just but a short time before this and asked to assist in his quest to retrieve the 'boy' you seek."

"Pah! Why doesn't he use /Locate Object/ and find him himself, if he's so concerned about his son?" Duo grunted.

"He already has. That is how we have been able to find it ourselves. However, as you are well aware/Locate Object/ cannot retrieve the creature. This is why he is utilizing henchmen. We are needed to bring the creature down to its knees and bring it back to Lord VonWinner, hopefully intact."

Wufei scratched his chin. "Why do you refer to him as 'creature' and 'it' rather than 'boy' and 'him'?"

"Because that is what it is."

Duo simply waved the comment off. "Tell us more about what this VonWinner's planning. I mean, if he'd just wanted his son back, why are there no warrants for him? No job offers to track him down? Why does he seem to be keeping this so hush-hush to involve only his cronies?"

"Because. He doesn't want more discovering the truth behind the creature he claims as his son than is necessary. Rather it be those who already know the truth and those who already serve his house that discover the truth than any who have no ties to the VonWinner name and could thus use the dark little secret behind his supposed son to muddy their reputation."

"Oh reeeeeeeally," Duo sittled.

"Yes. He truly wishes to reclaim it at all costs."

"He's that concerned about a disobedient son? Why does he not behave like most other fathers and simply let his child explore the world for himself to cure himself of his impetuous behavior?" Heero asked, arching a brow casually as he crossed his arms after sheathing his blade. "That's what my father did with me, and what my grandfather before him did with him."

"Because he's not concerned about it as a son."

"Oh?"

The elf nodded. "He's concerned about it as a run-away weapon. A weapon of mass destruction, that could easily and would without thought destroy all he cared for for naught but revenge and sheer pleasure. He's concerned about someone other than himself gaining control of that weapon and using it for their devices. He's concerned about the fall of his reputation in the communities of Magic and Science when word that his experiment has escaped reaches those venerable associations. And most of all..."

"Most of all?"

"He's concerned about what will happen when that weapon finds him of its own accord."

Wufei arched a brow. "So he is sending others to find him, to capture him and bring him before him in shackles and under restraint?"

"Of course. Do you think that frail old man would put himself into harm's way to reclaim it himself?"

"Of course not."

"Exactly. Such is why he's enlisted aid."

Heero blurted, "What sort of aid?"

"His house guard, a mercenary party, our tribe or so he thinks, and the venerable Elminster himself."

Duo gagged on his own breath of air. "El... Elminster!"

"Aa. And this is why I say that it would be in your best interest to abandon your search for the creature. Being associated with it when those powers find it will not be conducive to your continued existences within this realm of the living."

Trowa snorted coldly from right behind the elf, watching as the pale man's skin suddenly crawled with goose-bumps of fear. "You say all of this and expect us to abandon him? I think not."

Wufei nodded. "Indeed. Let's break camp and continue our search for him."

"Agreed," Heero acknowledged before marching towards the tents.

Duo smirked eerily at the elf. "And you're not going to relay a bit of this to anyone, riiiight? We're going after our buddy, whether you like it or not. And we'll stand against you should you decide to work for VonWinner. And whether by our blades, our magic, our skills or his power, you will die should you cross our paths again in opposition of his continued freedom. Got it?"

The elf nodded, completely unperturbed by the mage's words, being more disturbed by the fact that the acrobat had successfully snuck around him without his knowledge and had a dirk's sharp point poking into his back through the thick fabric of his cloak.

"Get the hell outta here," Duo said cheerfully as he trotted back towards the campfire to help put it out and break down their small establishment.

The dirk at the elf's back vanished, letting the pointed-eared man slink into the shadows.

"I've given you fair warning of what you will face. Do not let my efforts be entirely in vain. Protect it, yes. But first and foremost, protect yourselves - even if it need be against that being."

And with that final warning, the elf was gone.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

The horses plodded on tiredly in the early morning, their staggering steps echoing the awareness and awakened state of their riders.

Trowa sighed, his eyes closed as he held onto the reins of his animal. He was holding the devices loosely, letting the animal have its head and trusting it to simply follow its companions who should be lead by one of the party who was actually awaken enough to see the road. His ears were accosted by the bright singing of songbirds, his eyes by flickers of the leave-dappled light even through his eyelids.

It was then that he heard the soft whimpering to his left.

Eyes snapping open, stinging immediately as light struck their pupils for the first time in nearly an hour, he leapt from his horse. "Guys, hold!"

Wufei drew back the reins on his horse, bringing it to an immediate stop. Heero and Duo quickly echoed the move.

"What is it, Barton?" the Eastern man called out.

"I hear something," Trowa replied, "and I'm going to investigate."

Without another word to anyone, he jogged into the woods. Wufei, Heero and Duo remained hot on his trail.

Soon, Trowa found himself in a gutted clearing, staring at the remains of a vicious but strangely isolated forest fire. Glancing around, he frowned. 'Is THIS the destructive capability the elf was speaking of?' he thought to himself as he wandered over the ash-carpeted forest floor.

That soft whimper caught his ear again.

Turning, he sighed quietly in relief and walked to the small form huddled against a large stone, its legs clutched to its chest and its hood-covered head resting atop its knees. And, letting his hand hover but inches above that head, he sighed. "Do I have permission to touch you, Lord VonWinner?"

Soft, tear-filled blue eyes found emerald ones, before a faint smile touched his lips. "Yes."

Trowa found himself gathering the small, shaking boy into his arms, lovingly caressing his back and sighing in quiet contentment.

"I love you."

Quatre breathed softly against his ear, "You entertain me."

Stiffening slightly, Trowa mouthed, "That's all...?"

Nod went the blonde head. "I can't do anything more than feel appreciation for what you do. Sorry."

And, standing barely within earshot of the couple, Wufei scratched his chin, pondering.

_tbc..._


	16. Chapter XV

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Morning had arrived.

And, predictably, so had the complaints.

"You expect me to eat THIS shlop! What was this before it was so horribly butchered?"

Rubbing his forehead, Duo groaned. "It was a quail. I made stew."

"Ugh. THIS is what you people try to pass off as stew? Where are the vegetables? Where is the actual presence of meat? Why is it so watered down?"

"Well, if you haven't noticed, m'Lord, we're out in the middle of nowhere. We don't have anything BUT water. There are as many veggies in it as I could find to throw in it. There's the flesh of ONE WHOLE QUAIL in it, considering that we don't HAVE ANYMORE! Does that answer your question?"

"Hmph. You commoners and your simple tastes. I can't believe that you people can actually live this way and be happy."

"Well, some of us don't have a fucking choice, now, do we?"

"You ALWAYS have a choice. It's just that most of you are too lazy to actually go out and work for a living."

"GKKKK! YOU LITTLE...!"

"Don't you even THINK of attacking me!"

"You! Little! Wretch! How can you get off saying that we don't work for our livings? We work harder from a day-to-day basis than you nobles do in a fucking DECADE!"

"Gak! Help!"

Heero's voice calmly penetrated the madness. "Duo, please stop strangling Lord VonWinner."

"NO! The little bastard's going to pay for what he said!"

"Gkkk..."

"His face is turning red, Duo."

"He'll turn purple before he dies."

"GAAAAA!"

"Duo..."

"NO."

"Yes."

"HELP!"

"WHY!"

"Because I say so."

"Oh, good fucking reason, Heero."

Pound pound pound.

"That's quite enough."

"But... but!"

"I don't care."

Gasp, gasp.

"Let him go."

"FINE."

Drop.

Stomp stomp stomp.

Heero rubbed his forehead, watching his longhaired lover stomp angrily towards the tent and hurtle himself into its dark recesses, leaving the blond holding his bruised throat and gasping for air. Reaching over, he lightly laid a hand upon the breathless boy's back.

And immediately emitted a cry of pain.

Quatre's hand slowly released his, letting his broken fingers out of his grasp. Glowering at Heero, he hissed softly, "Don't touch me."

Staring at his mangled hand, holding it loosely with his other, Heero blinked before turning his shocked gaze to the blond.

Quatre was turned away from him, glowering off into the distance and muttering quietly to himself.

Straining to listen, all Heero caught was, "Worthless humans."

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Wufei rubbed his forehead as he cradled his own bowl of watered-down stew in his lap, watching the encounter. "Tell me again, Trowa. WHY are we keeping that brat near us?"

"Because he needs our assistance," the acrobat quietly reiterated as he slurped his soup.

"And why are we being the ones volunteering to assist him?"

"Because I love him."

"Why?"

Trowa blinked for a few moments before he turned his gaze to Wufei. "Why does any person ever love another?"

The Easterner straightened his back, looking calmly at Trowa. "Difficult question you propose to ask, my friend."

"Why did you ever love Meiran?"

With a quiet sigh, Wufei bowed his head. "Because of who she was. Because, under that hard exterior of hers was a gentle, beautiful woman who was willing and able to stand up for herself. Because of her strength and her grace."

"But she was exceedingly defiant."

Chuckling as he lifted his spoon, Wufei nodded. "I think that was one quality that attracted me to her."

"So how can you possibly question what I feel for Quatre?"

Glancing towards the huddled blond, Wufei frowned. "Because what that boy displays is not simply stubbornness, as Meiran had. It's a true and pure hatred of all mankind."

"Maybe I can change that. He doesn't seem to hate me."

Arching a brow, Wufei smirked. "True."

"Did he just break Heero's fingers?"

"Looks to be that way."

Trowa sighed quietly. "Think you can heal him?"

"Do I look like a priest?"

"But you've healed others before."

Frowning, the raven-haired man rose to his feet. "Hmph. It's called "Molecular Rearrangement", not "Healing." Please learn to discern between psionics and magic. They're two exceedingly different arts."

"Oh, forgive me my ignorance."

"You're full of it this morning."

Trowa allowed the corners of his lips to be raised in a slight smirk.

"It must be because of his presence."

Nodding, Wufei left Trowa's side to tend to the stricken warrior, frowning as he glanced towards the chaotic little lump that was the blond. "What did you do this time, Yuy?"

Heero frowned. "I touched his shoulder."

"May that be a lesson to you to leave the boy alone. I think he's enough issues to deal with at this moment than either you or I can possibly fathom, and doesn't need our interference."

Arching a brow, Heero let his friend take his hand. "You truly believe that?"

"I believe that his behavior is not a voluntary reaction to his surroundings, but rather one crafted of them. His aura..."

Quatre turned slightly, eyes narrowed, focused on the onyx-eyed man's back.

"It doesn't carry the stain of hatred well."

"Hmph," two voices uttered in unison.

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Afternoon.

The songs of birds flooded the forest, the mood of the day seemingly unaffected by the massive destruction that was but a few miles behind the small band of adventurers. Sunlight danced merrily through the leaves of the trees, faintly lighting the ancient path the horses plodded calmly along. In the distance, the trickle of a stream and rustling of leaves driven to movement by a slight, warm, calming breeze could be heard, along with the hooting call of some wild creature unknown to the party.

"Nice day for a ride, neh?" Duo said, stretching with a smile on his face, his hold on his reins loose.

"Indeed," Heero muttered from right before him, his eyes cautiously watching the foliage to either side of them.

"Gee, you think he'd be able to relax for but a second, neh?" Duo murmured, a wild grin on his face, as he leaned over towards Quatre.

Blinking mindlessly at the mage, Quatre simply tightened his hold on Trowa's tunic and laid his head on the thief's back. "I guess. Though he's probably concerned over the fact that we're about to be ambushed."

"What!"

As Wufei and Heero simultaneously reined their horses in, the woods erupted into chaos.

They were completely surrounded.

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Stepping forward, the seemingly appointed leader of the gathering of warriors who had the small traveling party surrounded lifted his helm from his head.

"Otto..." Quatre quiet hissed, blue eyes narrowing.

"Tis a pleasure to see you again, Lord VonWinner," the curly-haired man said with a smile on his face before turning his attention to the other four gathered in the small circlet created by his minions. "Which of you do hereby claim leadership of this party?"

"I do," Heero said, nodding once.

"I see. Very well then. Allow me to make this offer. Hand over that boy," Otto proclaimed, pointing at Quatre, "and we allow you to leave this place with your lives and 20 gold pieces for your efforts. Such should reimburse any damages he may have caused you and your equipment during his stay with you."

Heero scowled, watching as Quatre ducked behind Trowa's back, his small hands tightening all the more on the lanky acrobat's sleeveless tunic.

"And if we refuse?"

"If you refuse, then we've no choice but to remove him from your custody by force. I cannot be responsible for what is destined to happen to you in such a case."

"Indeed." With a cold snort, Heero backed his horse closer to his companions. "I will have to discuss this with my comrades."

"Do as you must. I give you five minutes."

Heero nodded.

And nearly jumping off his horse, the Prussian blue eyed man turned in his saddle as a new voice erupted behind him.

"Actually, young man, you may want to consider House VonWinner's offer before you begin to discuss battle strategies with your compatriots."

As one, the five men turned their attention to the center of their own party.

Duo promptly fell off his horse.

"Elminster!" five voices rang at once.

Smiling in a friendly, inviting fashion, the withered man lifted a hand in greetings before stepping forward to the violet-eyed mage and helping him to his feet. Dusting off the lithe mage's robes, he clucked his tongue. "Tsk tsk! Taking to such shocks as that. Really, now, young Maxwell."

Duo's mouth gapped open, no single sound issuing from his throat.

"There. All better, are we?"

"Y..Y..Yeah."

"Good. Now, as I was saying, it would be to your benefit to simply hand the boy over." Glancing up at Quatre, the elderly mage smiled once more. "Otherwise, even I will consent to the destruction of this party to reclaim him."

"But why? What has he done?" Duo blurted, even as Heero began to slowly draw his sword, eyes narrowed and set on the old man.

"Nothing as of yet, but such does not mean that this restitute from his anger will last for all eternity." Nodding, Elminster crossed his arms, calmly walking out of the party's center to stand by Otto.

"We'll let no one who harbors the greatest force of destruction to ever walk these Realms since the days of the Times of Troubles continue such. If removing that creature from your grasp means destroying you, so be it."

_tbc..._


	17. Chapter XVI

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; /magical spell/ (prays that QuickEdit actually works and doesn't make a stinky mess out of her formatting)

_-BEGIN FIC-_

"The greatest force of destruction..."

"To have walked the Realms..."

"Since the Times of Troubles..."

"Is Quatre?"

Duo, Heero, Wufei and Trowa each looked at the blond seated calmly behind Trowa upon his tall quarter horse with wide eyes.

The blond simply blinked innocently at all of them.

Duo began sniggering quietly under his breath. "There's got to be a mistake here, gentlemen. I'm sorry, but our little Lord VonWinner here has yet to display any vicious tendencies and extraordinary powers that would make me even begin to believe your claims that he's the single most deadly and destructive person to exist during these times right now. Sure, shit blows up when he's pissed. Sure, he can kill people with his mere will and thoughts. But any psionisist with enough training can do that. There ain't nothin' that I've seen that marks him as being so extraordinarily different than the highly experienced mercenaries and vagabonds we've encountered over the course of our own travels that he'd be a risk that would draw your attentions away from your precious Shadow Dale."

Heero nodded in agreement. "We've seen nothing out of the ordinary. As far as we've been witness to, he's an ordinary boy. One with an extraordinary talent for mind-magics, but an ordinary boy none the less."

Wufei snorted, opting to remain silent and observe those who surrounded them.

Trowa did the same, keeping one hand soothingly touching Quatre's leg and the other on the reins of the horse.

"You will not heed my warning?" the elderly mage breathed with a sigh.

"Of course not," Duo blurted. "No disrespect meant to you, sir, but you're full of shit."

Otto scowled. "We aren't going to be talking sense into these people any time soon, Elminster. We will have to forcibly remove Lord VonWinner from their care."

"I fear you're right."

On cue, the warriors who'd accompanied the ancient mage and the VonWinner house guard drew their weapons.

"Last chance, honorable mercenaries! Give us the boy, or die protecting that which will destroy us all!" Otto called out as he drew his sword from its scabbard.

"Hmph. May Death have mercy on your souls for having given them up in vain," Heero murmured with a smirk as he drew his enchanted sword and slid around his horse to stand before Otto, sword's deadly sharp point leveled at the other man's throat as Otto's sword repeated the gesture, doing the same.

Duo, already off his horse, held up a slender hand as he crouched into a defensive stance. "Even if I go down right now, if this is my great day for answerin' the call to go home, I'm going down fighting. You're not getting him without a fight. He fought for his freedom, and by the Gods both above and below, we're going to help him keep it!"

Glancing over to Trowa, Wufei simply nodded. "We'll do our best to protect both of you. Get to the shadows if you can, thief. Take him with you." With that said, the black-haired man lightly hopped off the back of his horse, drawing his katana in mid air and coming down on his toes, ready to attack as soon as stricken against.

Quatre slid off the horse as Trowa did the same and stood by him, his hand vanishing into the billowing folds of his cloak to draw forth a plain, undecorated scimitar.

"Very well. You have all sealed your fates. ATTACK!"

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Wufei grunted as he blocked both swords chopping for his neck with a swiftly raised katana, ducking simultaneously to pull his sword from the lock he had with his enemies and send them toppling off-balance behind him. Turning sharply, he sent the sword screaming through the air and slicing noisily though flesh and bone, severing both men's heads clean from their necks.

'How many more? How many more needlessly wasted lives are going to be ended before they call off this ridiculous battle?'

Stepping once more to his left, he dodged another swiftly coming attack and let his sword slice through the bright sunlight, sparkling and whistling shrilly, once more.

Heero snarled, noting Wufei's predicament and noting that there was no way his friend would be able to assist the others in their own fights. Duo was up to his eyeballs in trouble (which wasn't far from the norm for him), not having time to finish a single incantation before having to dodge to save his life. Trowa was defending himself as well as he could with his daggers, having no way to escape the tight circle of foes that had befallen them. Quatre apparently was holding his own quite well, his scimitar bloodied and sweeping with ease, rending a cry from a throat with every pass it made.

And Heero himself was facing their leader, a man who seemed as adept with the sword as he.

Once again, they brought their blades crashing into one another, Otto's splintering even as one of the cracks in Heero's beaten Flametongue ate further into the metal than it did before. Thrusting against one another's might, they flung each other away and charged again, battle cries upon snarling lips.

Raising his bracer, Heero attempted to bat the longsword Otto wielded away, earning a deep slice in his arm for the effort.

Still, the risk had been well worth it. Without his weapon ready or on the correct side of his opponent, Otto could in no way defend himself from the longsword that raced to meet his abdomen.

The man decided to attempt to back away.

It was far to late for him to realize that his back had been maneuvered to be nearly flush with the trunk of a tree. Gasping in recognition of the plan utilized against him even as the sword plunged through his body and embedded itself into the mighty trunk behind him, Otto dropped his own weapon and clutched the hilt that protruded from his stomach.

"How... could you?"

Heero looked blankly at the man. "Because you have threatened the safety of one of our companions. And no matter how little I like him, he is dear to Trowa and Duo, so therefore he warrants my protection."

"You have brought... death... upon us all..."

"If I have, then it will ride on my shoulders. So be it. I care not." Nodding, his lips turned in a callous sneer, he yanked his sword back out of the tree and the bloodied body it had held so firmly to that wooden post.

Turning towards the battle, Heero's eyes nearly rolled out of his head.

Elminster was casting.

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The ancient man had his hands calmly raised into the air, one holding a vial that glowed black with the dark liquid it held in its crystalline depths, the other empty, fingers waving as if gathering the very strands of the Weave, the delicate energies that surrounded the world and gave it its magic, into the spell he desired to craft. His thumb popped the cork off of the small crystal vessel he held and he slowly overturned it, letting the poisonous liquid known to those of the Priestly spheres as Unholy Water dribble from the vial and drip onto the soil at the elderly mage's feet, instantly slaying the hints of plant life that had existed there. And, as his semantic gestures flew from his hands, Elminster's lips formed the words of the arcane art that would bring the energies of the Weave to life.

"What is he doing!" Trowa growled, leaning back to back with the blond VonWinner heir, emerald eyes narrowed.

"He's attempting the /Banishment/ spell."

"Why?"

"He's trying to send me home."

Before Trowa could open his lips once more, Elminster brought both hands down, fingers splayed and pointed towards Quatre, black tendrils of energy shooting like shadowy lightning bolts towards the blond.

Quatre stood perfectly still.

Both Elminster and Duo felt their eyes widen as the wind created by the hurtling bolts crafted of the /Banishment/ spell blew the boy's thick cloak back, exposing the armbands permanently attached to his forearms and as those very bolts broke into hundreds of pieces, each being absorbed into the bands even as they attempted to wrap themselves around their intended target.

Duo tried to close his gaping mouth as he murmured, "Those things absorb magic?"

"Yep," Quatre softly whispered, his eyes narrowed, crackling lightning running along their irises. "Completely and thoroughly. It matters not how powerful or precise the spell is. Now you understand why I've nothing to fear from you magi..."

Elminster nodded, scratching his chin. "A very interesting turn in events. VonWinner himself has ensured that there is no way to defeat you and bring you before him, even though I doubt that he was aware of the full consequences of imbuing this upon you. I am quite certain this was not his intention, but it apparently is its result."

The two stared each other down.

"I see no need to continue this battle, seeing as how it is utterly futile. Go about your business. You men," Elminster called, waving to the warriors who still remained standing, "retreat if you value your lives. I shall be leaving you now." And, with a polite nod, he bowed and vanished.

The adventurers simply stood in the miniature battlefield, four with expressions of confusion upon their faces, one with grim satisfaction.

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Duo frowned as he knelt beside Quatre, one slim arm held in his grip. "This is most interesting," the mage quietly grumbled as he stared at the bands that graced the boy's forearms. "Mind telling me what all this is about?"

"Yes, I do mind."

"Should've expected that," Duo huffed in resignation. "Guess I have to figure it all out on my own, now, don't I?"

"Certainly looks that way."

"Gee, thanks."

Duo's eyes narrowed a bit further as he stared at the runes along the bands. "Hmmmm..."

"What have you deduced, mage?" Wufei calmly asked as he sat down beside Duo.

Nearly jumping out of his skin at the shock of being interrupted, Duo glowered at Wufei. "Nothing as of yet. Gah! Don't sneak up on people like that. It's rude."

"I didn't sneak up on you. Now, what are you discerning?"

"Pshah. 'Duo, discern this! Cook that! Warm my footsies with a /Burning Hands/ spell!'"

"It's not that terrible," Wufei said with a quiet chuckle.

Winking, Duo shrugged. "Nah. But give me a few more moments."

Nodding, Wufei let him get back to work. Soon enough, Duo was babbling away, pointing at the inscriptions on the armbands Quatre wore.

"Aha! This is what absorbed that spell. Magical Absorption is granted through the use of this rune, which is bordering this one. Hmmm. Used for Alter Self. Very odd, neh?"

"Indeed," Wufei concurred, scratching his chin.

"And here we have Psionic Inhibitation. Neh, if that's on these bands, why is he still able to use his abilities?"

"Because any decent psionisist can defeat that spell, given the time to do so. Correct, Lord VonWinner?"

The blonde nodded his agreement as Duo continued.

"Hrm. And here we have a bit of a Contingency spell. Don't know why that's there."

"Could it have something to do with removing the bands, Duo? They're scribed right over the bolt that's holding each of those devices in place."

"Maybe you're right there, 'Fei. Hmmmm. But what's throwing me is this bit here."

"What does it read?"

Glancing over, violet eyes wide, the mage frowned. "It activates only upon contact between the outer surface of the bands and the flesh of an Outer."

"Outer?" Wufei questioned softly.

"Native of the Outer Planes of Existence. The Abyss, Ysgard, Limbo, Arborea, Baator-"

"I know of the Outter Planes, Duo."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"Anything else?"

Shaking his head, Duo scowled. "That's all I can read. Sorry."

Nodding, Wufei simply crossed his arms and rose from his station beside Duo.

'More mysteries, more questions.'

'I wonder what's truly going on.'

_tbc..._


	18. Chapter XVII

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; :psionic power: **Telepathic (Mind) Speech , **/magical spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

"How much loooooooonger?"

"Still two days travel, Duo. Just like this morning, when you asked."

"You sure, Heero?"

"Yes."

"How can you be sure?"

Groan. "Because I've been in this region before, and thus I know that it's two days travel by this road to reach the next township."

"What if we cut through those hills?"

"There is no path to cut through those hills."

"Yes there is! Look!"

Heero looked, and frowned. "That path hasn't been maintained for the last century or two. I'll not risk our party on it."

"But it'd cut down our time."

"So?"

"Let's take it!"

Wufei's voice soon cut in, "Maxwell, it's dangerous. Best that we stay upon our path and make it to town safely rather than risk ourselves on that abandoned road. Think about it - it must have been left to decay for a reason, otherwise the lordship that controls this region would maintain it."

Duo whimpered, "But I want a hot cup of cider and a warm bed."

Heero sighed quietly. "We all want that, Duo. But it will have to wait."

"Let's take the path."

Wufei and Heero both turned, eyes set on the petulant blond who wearily laid his head on Trowa's back and glared at them.

Heero arched a brow. "Did you not hear what we just told Duo?"

"Do you think I care?"

"Please, be rational about this, Lord VonWinner."

"Hmph. I am being rational. And I say we take the shortcut."

"You'd put us all at risk."

"There's probably no danger. And I want to rest. Don't feel so good." With a quiet sigh, he laid his head back on Trowa's back and closed his eyes.

Heero drew up on his horse's reins and frowned. As the party slowly came to a halt, the warrior dismounted and walked to Trowa's steed. "What's wrong with him?"

Trowa shrugged slowly. "I don't know. He's been like this since this morning."

"Lord VonWinner?" Heero quietly called, brow arched.

"Nm. Just been away from home for so long... haven't felt its touch for awhile. Kind of draining."

Wufei frowned. 'I thought so...' Sighing, he shook his head. "Vincent provided such for you before, didn't he?"

The boy slowly nodded.

"Will rest help?"

"Just need to be in a secure place. Can commune on my own... provided I have the right atmosphere."

"I see." Turning to Heero, he sighed. "The boy will be of no use to us until we reach a town. If he can't concentrate on his own situation, his abilities cannot be channeled. If we are attacked, he will be nothing more than added weight which we will be forced to defend."

"Then you are suggesting that we take the mountain pass."

"Against my better judgment, yes. We cannot risk the dangers of the woods ahead without him at least being aware of his surroundings. We can not take the initiative to defend him as well as ourselves."

With a sigh, Heero nodded. "Very well. Duo, you've gotten your wish."

Duo cheered happily before spurring his horse towards the looming mountains ahead.

"WAIT, BAKA!"

The horses galloped after the braided mage and his steed as quickly as they could.

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The small party made its way slowly yet steadily up the side of the mountain.

"See, Heero? Told you that this way would be much faster."

Heero grunted quietly to acknowledge the fact that Duo was speaking to him, his eyes never adverting their attention from the path before them. He was carefully guiding his horse along the crumbling road, watching their surroundings carefully.

Something about this abandoned road had him on edge.

"What is wrong, my friend?" Wufei quietly asked, urging his horse up along side that of the party leader, one dark eyebrow arched over an onyx eye.

"Something's not right. This is too easy."

"You're worried of attack?"

Heero frowned. "There's no reason for this path to have been abandoned. It is not dangerous. There are no cliffs, no blind turns, no avalanche risks, no place for bandits to easily hide. It's an ideal path. Yet, the lordship of this regent demanded that it not be traveled. I am wondering why..."

"And it has you worried."

"Yes."

Wufei nodded, turning his gaze to look up the path. "I see. Maybe it has something to do with this...?"

Heero brought his horse to a halt as Wufei did the same. "What in the names of the Gods...?"

Both warriors stared at the burned and charred surroundings.

"I understand now why you don't have a good feeling about this path, Heero."

"Why is that, Wufei?"

"Because the beast hidden in this region that's currently thinking very loudly about whether or not it's going to charge us and devour us can likely destroy us all."

"What is it?"

"Dracolich."

Heero paled. "You've got to be kidding."

"Look straight ahead and you'll see that I'm not."

Both warriors simply stared as the huge monstrosity made its way towards them, jaws parted, the hiss of hot air leaking from its throat.

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Duo and Trowa quickly brought their horses to a stop, staring.

"What is that thing?" Trowa mouthed.

"Dracolich," Duo breathed quietly, his eyes huge with fright.

The great beast, nearly 400 feet in length, loomed before them, skeletal wings spread to either side of its skeletal body. Giant white skull swinging down towards the earth, the great dragon's skeleton focused with bright, red lights in empty eye-sockets on the small party before it. Jaws parting, it leered as it lifted its massive wings and flapped them once, the loose red skin that hung between its bones flapping and straining with the motion.

Duo gulped, slowly trying to lead his completely stunned horse back by tugging on its reins. "It's an undead dragon, Tro... a red one at that. You can tell by the size, and the color of the flesh that's still clingin' to its bones, an' the way its skull is shaped... and I think it wants to rip us apart. Maybe we can just bribe it and convince it to let us go."

Trowa nodded, slowly slipping off his horse and laying Quatre against its neck, seating him in the saddle and attempting vainly to get his limp, cold hands to grip the reins. "Ride from here, Quatre... we'll distract it."

"LIKE HELL!" Duo shouted, staring at the acrobat as if he were completely and utterly insane.

"Duo," Trowa said, looking over at the mage with sorrow in his eyes, "he's ill. He can't face it. And I doubt that it will take to bribing. We've got to distract it so he can escape."

"What about us?" the mage whined, nearly bouncing up and down on his horse.

"We do what we must. We fight it until he escapes, then escape ourselves."

"How, you crazy moron?"

"You're the supposed genius, Duo. You think of something." And, with a grim smile, the acrobat made his way towards Heero and Wufei, approaching the undead beast that took the entire landscape before them with courage unmatched by even the most astute or crazed of paladins and berserkers.

Duo just held his head, staring. "Oh gracious Shinigami, help us... we're gonna need it. TRO! YOU FUCKER! IF I DIE, I'M GONNA HAUNT YOU FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY!" Growling curse after curse, he hopped of his own steed and bolted up the path, staff in one hand and the other clenched into a fist he waved above his head.

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Wufei and Heero slid from their horses as one, staring at the giant beast before them. Their mounts swiftly fled the scene, terrified and whinying.

The dracolich ignored them, focusing its attentions on the warriors before it. Parting its jaws, it hissed softly, "You have intruded in my territory. Pay me for the privilege of retreating back in the direction from whence you have traveled, or I shall destroy you."

Heero nodded, glancing over at Wufei. "Give it everything."

"Of course," the Easterner replied as he began to dig through his pouches.

"The price is 100 rubies of 10,000 gold piece worth each," the giant undead lizard said with a sneer turning the flesh that remained upon its skull near its gaping jaws.

Both adventurers paled.

"Crap."

"You have not the money?"

They stared remorsefully.

"Then you die."

Trowa stopped his approach and Duo screeched to a halt from his run, both staring with wide eyes, as their friends screamed.

"HEERO!" Duo cried, tears leaping to his eyes.

The pair could do nothing but watch as their friends were bathed in the huge jet of fire that poured from the undead dragon's enormous jaws.

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Wufei slowly lifted his hand, reaching with shaking fingers to pinch the tip of his smoldering ponytail and put out the single flicker of flame that dared to remain after the dragon's breath had come to an end. "Heero... you alive?" he muttered into the dirt his face had been pressed into.

"Aa."

"Can you fight?"

"Aa."

"Can you move?"

"... Give me five minutes."

"We don't have five minutes. There's something dancing all over my back."

"Nm?"

"OW!"

Wufei bolted upright, rubbing the back of his neck, glaring behind himself.

The tiny dragonette hissed at him, its multicolored, pupilless eyes narrowed coldly. **You have dared oppose the one who summoned me. Prepare to die.** Opening its little jaws, baring its needle-sharp fangs, it growled and hunkered down, little clawed feet digging into the ground, leathery wings spreading, sunlight dancing off its reddish- brown scales. Its tail lashed back and forth behind it, scorpion-like stinger on its tip primed and ready to strike.

Arching a brow, the warrior stared at the little lizard. "Oh really." Then, turning to the dracolich, he stared in amazement.

Heero was facing the thing on his own, grimace on his face and sword in hand. And Trowa was slipping behind it, unseen against the dingy stone that made up the mountain they were upon, daggers in hand. Duo was to its left, hands upraised, changing the beginnings to a spell.

**Coward! Face me!**

"You can't be serious."

The tiny dragon puffed out its chest proudly. **I will take you while the Master takes your party. They will not be a challenge for him, as you will not be a challenge for me.**

"You're a pseudodragon."

And?

Smirking, the warrior crossed his arms. **And you're under the control of that dracolich's spell.**

The dragonette reeled as its telepathic line was reversed upon itself and staggered, its tiny clawed forepaws gripping its skull. **How...!**

**Psionisist.**

The dragonette blinked.

**Why fight one of your own, little dragon?**

**Because... he told me to.**

Who is he to direct the actions of one mighty enough to master the arts of the mind?

The dragon's little lips turned up in a grin.

Wufei mentally chuckled. 'Nothing like the ego of a dragon to make it so easy to manipulate.'

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Heero cried out as the dragon's huge foot sent him flying.

The dragon turned with nearly blinding speed, its jaws snapping shut on the acrobat even as he charged with every intent to backstab the beast. With a casual flick of its head, it sent him crashing into the mage, fully interrupting his spell.

The glowing red lights in the empty eye-sockets that served as the dracolich's eyes crossed as it stared at the tiny pseudodragon that had alighted onto its nose.

The little dragonnette hissed as it flicked its tail down, burying its needle-tipped stinger into the bone of the giant dracolich's skull.

With bland disinterest, the dracolich snorted before turning its attention back to the warrior who was trying to regain his footing. Its jaws parted, the glow of fire starting to form once more behind its massive breastplate and snaking up its skeletal neck.

"NO!"

Turning its head, it glowered at the mage, who snarled right back at it.

"You've messed with the wrong fucking party. Now taste the might of Duo Maxwell!"

Flinging his hands forward, the mage cried the final command word to his spell as loudly as he could.

"/FIREBALL/"

The small wad of guano and sulfur landed at the giant skeletal dragon's feet and exploded into a huge ball of searing flame.

Duo stared as the dracolich grinned at him.

"Fool," the undead beast laughed at him, "did you not realize that we red dragons retain our immunity to all fires, magically created or not, even after the onset of undeath?"

And Duo screamed as the dragon's deadly blast of firey breath enveloped him.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero stared as his lover fell, the incredible heat of the fire easily overwhelming him.

'Duo...'

He stared as the mage failed to move again, laying perfectly still as the flickers of fire pouring from the dragon's gaping jaws finally came to a halt.

'Duo...!'

He watched as the fire dancing over the mage's prone body slowly oozed out of existence, leaving him lying still without movement, even the rise and fall of his chest having stopped.

'Duo!'

Turning towards the dragon, tears of rage and hatred in his eyes, Heero tightened his grip on his Flametongue sword.

'Worry not, Duo.'

Slowly walking forward, his eyes narrowed with grim determination, the warrior scowled.

'I'll avenge you.'

His walk became a steady jog.

'And if I fail...'

Bursting into a run, a scream of fury upon his lips, Heero's eyes met those of the dracolich.

'I'll join you in death!'

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo's fingers twitched slightly, the pain of that small movement overwhelming him. 'Fucking hell...'

'Everything hurts. And I'm bleeding.'

'I'm fucked.'

'I'm going to bleed to death, aren't I?'

'Hell, I can't even see anymore... feel almost like my eyes got burned out of my sockets. Blood... feel it comin' from everywhere... must've been burned to a crisp. Skin's crackin', bleedin' all over the place.'

'Oh Gods, Heero, I'm dying...'

He tried his damnedest to whimper as he felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder, failing to produce even one small sound.

"Duo..."

'That's Quatre's voice,' Duo's brain cried out.

"Don't worry. I'll help you. But only after I've helped the others. Try to hang on."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

With a wild scream, Heero charged even as the dracolich opened its jaws and lunged forward.

Steel clanged and grated harshly against huge fangs, roar overpowering the human's war cry.

The great fang snapped.

Drawing its huge skull back and shaking it, dislodging the tiny pseudodragon that was still vainly trying to sting it to death from its nose, the mighty skeletal dragon snarled at Heero, even as he brought his cracked sword before him once more.

The dragon lashed forward with its massive jaws, even as it screamed "/CLOUDKILL/", creating a massive hazy fog centered on itself.

Heero growled, ignoring the stinging effects of the cloud as it settled over him, lifting his sword to ward off the snapping fangs once more, bringing his weapon down with a loud crunch on top of the beast's skull.

Trowa staggered out of the massive magical cloud, coughing loudly even as Wufei charged in, katana held at ready.

The raven-haired warrior was sent sprawling to the ground as the dragon whipped its skull away from Heero and sent it crashing into him. Its wing swinging as well, it aimed for Heero.

Heero swiftly ducked, jutting up with his sword to spear at the red leathery flesh that hung between the dracolich's huge wing-bones.

And Heero stared as the small blonde head of Quatre appeared at his side, eyes wide and staring at the massive form that was attacking them. "What are you doing!" the warrior hissed, even as the dracolich swung its massive head back in his direction and launched towards him, foot hovering above him with the obvious intent of smashing him into the ground.

Suddenly, they were both standing beside Duo.

"Saving you," Quatre replied softly, his eyes tired, his stance weary and weak. "Stay back. Bind him. Make certain he isn't dead by the time I get back."

Heero dumbly nodded as the boy vanished again.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa watched as the cloud of the dracolich's spell vanished, and charged in with the intent on reaching the fallen warrior and retrieving him before the dracolich had time to turn its attention back towards them.

Reaching Wufei's side, he quickly checked for a pulse. 'Damn, what does it take to kill you?' he reflected with a smile.

That smile instantly vanished.

"/Hold/ ."

Trowa shivered, unable to blink as sweat beaded upon his forehead and trickled into his eyes.

The warrior at his side stirred.

"'Fei..."

Wufei blinked, sitting upright, staring at the frozen acrobat.

"Run...!"

Facing the dragon, the warrior slowly staggered to his feet, holding his katana before him. And, a smirk coming to his lips, he shook his head. "I think not."

The dragon lunged.

Wufei stood perfectly at ease, face calm and weapon firmly gripped, closing his eyes and focusing not on the battle, but instead on the latent power that rested in the recesses of his mind...

The dracolich's skull suddenly exploded, showering both of them with sharp shards of bone fragments.

Trowa, having been released from the spell that held him in place, cried out and shielded his eyes even as Wufei staggered, falling to one knee, panting quietly for breath.

"Impressive..."

Wufei turned his head, cracking one eye open.

The blond stared, completely stunned, the small battered pseudodragon resting in his arms. "I was wondering how long it would take you to discover that power of yours."

A faint smile upon his lips, the warrior regained his footing and slowly pulled Trowa to his feet as well.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

The small group made their way quickly to Heero and Duo.

Trowa and Wufei simply stared at the mangled mess that was the mage lying upon the ground in a steadily spreading pool of his own blood.

"My god..." Wufei softly breathed, his eyes wide. "He's not going to make it..."

"Do we have anymore potions, Trowa?" Heero asked quietly, turning hope-filled eyes to the acrobat.

"No. Duo used the last of our potions when we faced the Green."

"Then we've no way to save him..."

Trowa crossed his arms. "If we find the beast's lair, we may be able to find something."

"Damn it, Trowa, he won't live that long! He's dying now, as we speak!"

Quatre slowly nodded. "Heero's right. The best you could do raiding that beast's lair, provided you even find it, is gather enough money to pay for his resurrection. However, without horses as they've all run off, you won't be able to carry the sum needed to buy a priest's services. Especially not for the resurrection of someone who doesn't carry their same faith."

Bowing his head, Heero gritted his teeth, trying to calm his steadily increasingly panicked breathing.

Resting a hand on the warrior's shaking shoulder, Quatre sighed quietly. "Think you'll be able to carry me to town?"

Glancing over, Heero frowned, his eyes wet with tears. "Why?" he quietly choked out, his hand gripping Duo's and caressing it gently.

Faintly smiling, the blond nodded once before kneeling beside the mage's bloodied body. Laying his hands upon it, he closed his eyes and sighed.

And both Wufei and the pseudodragon stared, eyes wide with shock.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Auras.

They were what crafted the world of the psionisist.

The natural world swam with them, each object that held life bearing its own trademark coloration suitable to its spirit.

To Wufei, everything had always existed in dual tones, one being that seen by all fellow mortals around him, the other being that which was present only for the eyes of those who shared the ability to utilize the powers of the mind to their fullest abilities.

Duo had always been represented by a chaotic swarm of billowing black which swirled madly around his frame, reflective of the unbound chaos that was the working of his mind, its smooth curves and gentle touch being that of the relative goodness that was in his heart.

Heero, the dark Prussian Blue, was the smooth, steady rock of the group, his aura never moving towards either the solid outlining lines of belief in the ways of law or the constantly moving swirl of chaos. His was the slowly moving, slowly curling whisps of neutrality, smooth and curved with good as Duo's was.

Trowa, the emerald cloud, was just as chaotic and jumbled as Duo. The green billowed smoothly at most times, 'less the acrobat's mind was turned to the ways of greed for gold, at which times it spiked sharply and curled roughly, its tendrils thorny and deadly with the edges of evil. But at most times, it remained as smooth as those auras held by Heero and Duo - really, such was the only thing that made certain Wufei could stand him.

Wufei's own, a crystalline white cloud, remained rigidly in place, never moving nor swirling as his companions' did, its edges nearly nonexistent.

And Quatre, the enigma - the cloud that was constantly changing, its tender pastel blue form billowing and stopping, slowly oozing and flicking itself about the blonde's form with maddening swiftness, spiked yet smooth, caressing all around it with power and confidence before retreating into itself timidly with fright.

It was that pastel blue aura that had his attention.

It flickered with power - massive power, who's likes he'd never seen before - pulsing and flowing around the small blond, sending tendrils of itself into the fading black and reinforcing it.

'He's using :Lend Health:'

**Would seem that way.**

Startled, he glanced down at the small billowing cloud of reddish brown. The pseudodragon looked up at him with swirling eyes, before its mindlinked voice whispered **What is he?**

**I'm not certain.**

Glancing back, steadily scooting to sit by Wufei's feet, the small dragon huffed. **One thing I know for certain - he's no human.**

Nodding, Wufei watched.

He stared as the two auras slowly changed intensities - Duo's becoming darker and more stable, as that which surrounded Quatre began to fade.

'He's killing himself...!'

Taking a few steps forward, the warrior scowled, every intention swimming through his mind to grab the blond and wrench him away from the mage, ready to tell the foolish noble that he'd done enough.

It was then that he stopped, completely stunned.

The pastel blue aura had errupted over the boy.

'... Wings...?'

The giant feathered limbs slowly faded, the feathers dropping from them as they vanished to swirl with the blue cloud that was the boy's aura, remaining firmly in existence before Wufei's wide eyes.

He could only stare at the swirling, feathered aura as the boy collapsed.

_tbc..._


	19. Chapter XVIII

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; /magical spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

It was far past the fall of the sun when the small party of adventurers finally arrived in town. Heero sighed in relief as they approached the town tavern, boosting the small blonde that he carried a bit higher on his back. "We're almost there," he grunted, receiving a quiet moan and a nod from the young man he carried.

"We'll be out of money once we get rooms for the night," Wufei said with a soft grunt, digging through the pouch that held the party's funds.

"I'll go out working tonight, then," Trowa said with a sigh.

Wufei sighed. "I don't approve, but there's truly no choice. Very well."

Following quietly, Duo simply frowned. "You sure you don't want me to take over the rest of the while, Heero? It's not that far now."

"You can't carry him."

"But..."

"I know you feel you owe him for your life, Duo," Heero began quietly, "but the best thing you can do for him is watch over him once we get into the tavern. Wufei and I will need to tend to our weapons. Trowa will need to acquire funds for our next bout of expenses. You, while you need to study your spells, could perhaps aid him best by staying with him...?"

Duo sighed and nodded. "Alright."

All under silent agreement over Heero's directives, they entered the town, and found the closest tavern they could.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei came downstairs early to find Duo speaking to Quatre, still seated at the table they'd claimed for their evening meal. Selecting a chair near the fireplace, he arched a brow as he found the small pseudodragon that had decided to tag along with him already occupying the seat. "Do you mind if I move you?" he whispered, a smirk taking his lips.

The dragonette simply yawned before rolling over.

Rolling his eyes, he lifted the lizard and plopped down in the chair. Laying it on his lap, he lightly patted its back, listening to the conversation behind him.

"And can you believe it? Mystra's clergy is all in an uproar because rumors have been flyin' that she and Kelemvor still have their little 'fling' goin' on. Everyone knows that the Goddess of Magic and the God of Death have been hot on each other since before the Times of Troubles, but Mystra's followers just don't wanna accept that."

"Of course not," Quatre quietly replied, staring blankly into space. "It was during the Times when they came to odds with one another over their beliefs. And when Kelemvor stole the Portfolio of Death from Cyric after the insane man used Mask, disguised as a sword, to defeat Bane, it only served to widen the rift between the two former lovers."

"Mask the sword...?"

"Read Volo's History of the Times of Troubles. It's recorded there."

"Oh..."

"But as I was attempting to say, there truly is nothing between them anymore. There hasn't been since the conclusion of that battle."

"How can you claim that?" Duo asked.

"Because I saw it. If you'd seen the anger in Mystra's eyes when Kelemvor betrayed her by claiming that portfolio, you'd know as well that there is nothing short of Ao's divine intervention that could bring those two back into the bounds of love with one another. While they will always be great allies, they can no longer reclaim that which they held when they were mortals."

"Wait a second. You SAW it? But that's not possible!"

"Yes, it is," Quatre softly said. "I saw it, as I saw the battles at Waterdeep, as I saw Torm's battle in the north, as I saw Tempus riding through the Shining Plains, as I saw Lathander settle in peace near the Starmantle Bay, as I saw Ao direct Helm to guard the escape from the Prime Material."

"But..."

"No more questions for tonight, please. I'm tired..."

"Oh Gods, I'm sorry Quatre! You want me to help you to your room?"

"It's quite alright. I believe I can make it."

"Oh... alright..."

Wufei turned and watched as Quatre rose from his seat. Arching a brow, he frowned. "You certain you can make it?"

Turning to the warrior, the blonde slowly nodded. "Aye. Don't worry about me. Despite popular belief, I can take care of myself."

That said, he staggered up the stairs towards the room he would be calling 'home' for the night.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei calmly watched the flickering oranges and reds of the tavern's merrily roaring and invitingly warm fire intertwine and dance over the logs set in the fireplace, slowly consuming them. Onyx eyes reflected the flashes of subdued colors periodically laced by streams of yellows and blues and greens entirely unblinking as he leaned back in the plush chair situated before the tavern's source of warmth. Slowly letting a hand fall from an armrest, he laid that hand upon the warm, purring pseudodragon that lounged there absorbing the warmth of both flame and human companion. Scratching the tiny dragonette's head, Wufei smiled as its purr deepened before returning his attention to the fire. Leaning back further into the cushy softness of his chair's cushions, he let his eyes drift closed and the problems and mysteries that had been hounding his mind come forward for further thought and pondering.

'That boy...'

He frowned as his brain drew upon a conjured image of Quatre, his pale face blank and large aquamarine eyes empty as they were when he saw him last before the boy had turned in for the night.

'He can't be human. Not with the aura I saw when his defenses dropped. No human being has an aura that flawless, that perfect...'

'And no human aura is feathered.'

'What is he, really?'

Reflecting on the time he spent with Quatre, Wufei drew upon everything he'd discerned about him.

'He's too psionically powerful to be a human. His power, his aura of strength, is too huge. There's no mortal creature I know of with a power pool that incredibly vast.'

'He's far older than we thought him to be. When he was speaking of the Times of Troubles with Duo, he spoke of that bygone time as if it were yesterday and he'd had insight on the battles and events that had occurred that is recorded nowhere in history. I've read the text he's referred to, and nowhere does it state the obscure data he knows. And those facts only he knows can't be false - they're all that explain some of the mysteries of the Gods' War and the occurrences that have taken place afterwards.'

'His attitude is far beyond the haughty supremacist attitudes displayed by nobility. It's more like that of a race that truly IS superior to us humans, and like he's so angered at being confused for one of us that he must constantly lash out against such.'

'And those armbands...'

Scratching his chin, he scowled.

'The spells that Duo said were woven into their construction suggests shackles rather than magical protection. The ability to absorb magic may not be a defensive measure, but rather something to keep an innately magical being bound to mediocrity. And Alter Self is very likely giving him his current form if that is truth rather than giving him the ability to change his form if desired. Psionic shielding isn't a shield against others who'd potentially attack him - rather, it's probably inhibitation. Inhibitation can't hold a psionisist of his abilities in check forever - he probably defeated a spell that was meant to hold him down. And the way they're attached, piercing his arms through muscle and bone and enchanted so that his touch will electrocute him...'

'Definitely shackles. Whoever put those on him did not want them removed, which not only suggest that he's inhuman but that he's a volatile being who's likely to cause either human casualty or mass destruction if free to do as he would and not bound like a prisoner.'

'However, his attitude of late suggests that he is not evil. Maybe bitter and angry at the world, but not truly evil.'

Carefully lifting the pseudodragon from his lap, he cradled the beast in his arms and rose from his chair. Walking as quietly as he could as to not disturb the dragonette's slumber, he made his way to his room and laid it upon his bed's soft pillow. Then, just as quietly as he'd entered, he left. Staring at the door of the room across the hall from his own he concentrated.

'Only Quatre is there. Trowa's more than likely gone out to amass wealth like the sneak thief he is.'

'Perfect. I can finally question this 'boy' alone.'

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Quatre's eyes slowly closed once more. He'd communed with home, Trowa had left, and he was so very thoroughly bored that he was once again making a vain attempt to fall asleep. His last three tries had been inhibited by the sound of the water clock dripping and clicking happily in its desolate corner and the laughter and carousing from downstairs.

He opened his eyes once more after naught but a few moments had passed and sat up on his bed. Crossing his legs and drawing his blanket to his waist to hide his nakedness, he sighed. "Enter, Wufei."

The door creaked quietly as the raven-haired man did as bade. Quatre stared at him blankly as he was greeted.

"Good evening, Quatre."

"Nm. What do you want?"

"I think you well know the answer to that question," Wufei said with a slight smirk claiming his lips.

"I don't. I've yet to recover from healing Duo."

"That would explain why your barriers are so pathetic at this moment."

Quatre glared. "... Gee. Thanks."

"Anyway, I came here to ask you a few questions," Wufei stated as he walked to the edge of Quatre's bed, arms crossed over his chest and the beginnings of a frown upon his face.

"About what?" the blond asked, arching a brow as Wufei seated himself next to him.

"What are you, really?"

Quatre frowned. "I am what you see."

"No more lies, Quatre. Answer my questions."

"Or else?"

"Or else I strip the information I seek straight from your mind."

With a mocking laugh, the boy glowered at Wufei. "Don't be so arrogant as to believe that you can defeat me, child. Even in this weakened state I could crush you in psionic combat."

"I see. In that case, I shall tell Trowa what I've already deduced about you before you have the opportunity to reveal your lies to him yourself."

Blinking, Quatre gulped. "You wouldn't."

"I would. So, are you going to play along nicely or not?"

Bowing his head, Quatre gritted his teeth together. "Fine."

"What are you, really?"

"I am as you expect. I am not human."

Nodding, Wufei nudged him. "Clarify that. Are you dragon? Lycanthrope? Undead?"

"I... am not from these Realms, nor even this world, this crystal sphere, this plane. I am not a being of the Prime Material. I was created in the Outer Planes, specifically that known as Nirvana, or Mechanus in today's studies and references. My original and true form would identify me in your tongue as..."

"As?"

Quatre sighed softly, shrugging his thin shoulders. "A Solar."

Wufei's jaw dropped as his eyes popped wide open. 'A... a Solar! A Solar...'

Quatre nodded. "Highest of the Celestials, reigning over the Archons, direct servants of the deities of the Outer Planes. I myself was in the service of Oghma, Greater God of Knowledge and Wisdom."

'Above the angels humans revere, the very incarnations of the wills of the Gods with power so great it's unimaginable to the mortal mind! This boy... this child...'

Quatre blinked. "Is that all?"

Staring for a few moments, attempting to regain control of his wildly roving train of though, Wufei shook his head before asking, "If you're a Solar, where are your..."

"Wings? The armbands cast /Alter Self/ upon me. They're about a fingerwidth long, laying over my shoulder blades."

"May I...?"

Quatre shrugged. "Sure. I trust you not to harm me."

Nodding, the warrior delicately laid his callused hands on the slender boy's back and gently prodded with his thumbs. With a startled gasp, he let his eyes widen in surprise once more. 'There. Right where he'd said they'd be. Projections that shouldn't be there. Those are wings?' he thought as he dug his fingers into the pale flesh for a better feel.

He jerked his hands away as Quatre hissed in pain. "Sorry," Wufei quickly said.

"It's no problem. What else do you wish to ask?"

"Who placed those armbands on you and why?"

Closing his eyes, the blonde let his head droop. "The man you know as Vincent VonWinner, twenty years ago, was fighting a Pit Fiend he could not defeat that had been summoned by an enemy of his to this Prime Material world. He attempted to summon aid for himself to battle the beast and managed by some miracle to ensnare me in that summoning spell's web. He drew me to this world; because he had already attempted to use /Banishment/ on the demon, he had no spell remaining to release me. As long as he lived for that spell's duration, I was caught - I'd decided to remedy that problem. However, he'd had some spells remaining in his repertoire and managed to capture me completely with one - /Sleep/. When I'd awakened, I'd done so to a world of horrible agony; he'd locked me in a cage designed to inhibit my abilities, then he 'gifted' me with these 'marvelous' bands. And when I'd tried to retaliate against him..."

Wufei's eyes softened as he watched the glimmer of a tear shine upon the blonde's cheek. "You could do nothing?"

Quatre nodded before quietly continuing. "He claimed that he'd done this out of self defense, knowing that I'd want nothing more than to destroy him when I awakened. He claimed that he was doing it for the welfare of all humanity, as I'd 'be irrational as rage overtook me' and thus would be a threat to the entirety of the Realms. All I'd wanted was to go home - rather, he made me a prisoner. And so, after years of being his specimen, his subject for research, after torture and mental and physical torment used to 'see just how far a Solar's limits lay as compared with other known creatures,' after being nothing more than a humiliated scientific curiosity for all of you sick mortals who's intrigue drives you to gawk and poke at the supposed 'monster' who's crying desperately for help..."

As the boy's shoulders shook, he harshly swallowed before finishing.

"All he did was create my hatred for you mortals and deepen my rage against him. It's his influence that's destroyed any appreciation I'd ever held for your kind!"

"And what about us? What about Trowa?" Wufei calmly asked, scratching his chin.

Quatre blinked, then stared at the warrior. "I..."

"You?"

"I don't really know. I should hate you, but I can't do it. Especially not..."

"Trowa."

"Yeah."

Wufei frowned. "You know he loves you, Quatre."

"I know."

"And how do you feel about him?"

Sitting up straight, his face screaming of defensive determination, Quatre snapped, "I care for him! I really do! I... I just..."

"You don't feel the same."

Quatre bowed his head once more, sniffling quietly as tears dripped from his eyes. "I wish I could. I truly do."

"But you don't."

"No. I can't. Celestials can't feel love as mortals do. We can feel intense loyalty and desire and longing so far as serving the deity who created us is concerned, but nothing close to that magnitude of emotion and direction is ever reflected to one of your kind."

Narrowing his eyes, Wufei scowled. "Then for this entire time you've been leading poor Trowa on the false hope that one day he'd be able to earn your love. How could you?"

Quatre slumped. "I... don't mean..."

"All you're going to do is cause him heartache. How could you? Solars are supposed to be benevolent souls, not cruel tormenters."

The blonde nodded.

"Your failure to tell him that truth, that he has absolutely no chance to win your love, places you at Vincent VonWinner's same level."

"What?"

"He tortured you by keeping you here, locking you down, doing what he's done to you in the name of science and magic. You are torturing Trowa by letting him love you and letting him hope that you'll love him in return."

Paling, the blonde leaned away from the Eastern man, shivering. "No," he whispered, his voice thick as it slid past the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Tell him yourself. Don't torture him any longer. Don't kill his heart."

"But he'll hate me."

"If he's going to hate you now, he'll hate you more the longer you take. You know it has to be done. You've simply been procrastinating."

Quatre nodded miserably.

"I leave it in your hands, then," Wufei sighed, laying a hand tenderly upon Quatre's thin shoulder.

Quatre grabbed his hand and roughly wrenched it away before rising from the bed, putting on a pair of breeches and a thin tunic and storming out the door.

"I'm sorry," Wufei whispered to the silent, empty room, "but this is to save Trowa from more heartache than he needs."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa smiled as he slinked into the tavern and saw the delicate blonde sitting at a small and lonely table. Walking over, he seated himself swiftly before reaching for one of the small, pale hands upon the dark oak platform they rested on. Taking that cold hand, he encased it in his own and lifted it to his lips. "Good evening, Quatre."

Quatre stared at Trowa with empty, bloodshot blue eyes. "Trowa," he muttered.

"Yes, love?"

Trowa arched a brow as the blonde flinched at his words. The acrobat then frowned as Quatre quietly whispered, "We have to talk."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa blinked as he sat down upon the bed. "What do we need to talk about, Quatre? What's got you so down?"

"Trowa. You really love me, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Trowa said with a smile. "I think I've loved you since I met you, to tell you the truth."

"Why? I've been nothing but a cold, callous jerk."

"But underneath that facade is a beautiful soul, longing to be freed."

Quatre stared at the acrobat. "Trowa..."

"And I'll be here for you, for as long as it takes-"

"I don't love you."

"fo...r... Wha...what?" Trowa stammered.

Hanging his head, Quatre took a deep breath. "I don't love you. I won't love you. And I never will love you. You need to abandon this childish fantasy you have about you and me and the mythical 'happily ever after' you long for, because it will never happen."

"B...but... why? Why, Quatre?" Trowa whispered, staring at the blonde.

"Because I can't. Because I'm what I am, and you're human. Because even I don't have the power to bend the mandates of the Heavens and allow a Solar, even a freak like myself, to love."

"... Solar...?"

"That's right. So maybe now you can understand why I can never return your love."

Turning away, Trowa closed his eyes in a desperate yet futile effort to keep his tears at bay.

'Gods, I've shattered him! What have I done?'

"Quatre..."

"Gomen nasai!"

Trowa turned to face the suddenly empty bedroom.

"Please, don't run..."

"Don't run away from me."

"Because, no matter what, I'll love you."

"Even if you'll never love me in return."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Quatre ran blindly through the night, his tears obscuring his vision as he raced over the grassy plain just beyond the city's walls.

'Trowa, I'm so sorry, my dear acrobat! How could I be so cruel!'

'Forgive me!'

_tbc..._


	20. Chapter XIX

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; /magical spell/

A/N 2; Kudos to those who can identify all of the cameo appearances of Gundam W characters in this chapter. Heh heh.

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Quatre sighed quietly, staring vaguely into the nothingness that surrounded him.

Seated in the middle of the gloriously vast sea of sparkling silver grasses known to the Realms as the Shining Plains, Quatre sulked in his solitude, his aqua eyes immune to the beauty that surrounded him. They watched unblinking as a light breeze whistled from the west, stirring the grasses around him and spreading about him for seemingly all eternity, causing the silvery reflection thrown upon the tall stalks of plant life to shiver and rustle like moonlight dancing upon waves on the ocean. Black sky gently caressed silver grass, the sparkling stars above assisting the full splendor of Selune, the moon that hovered in the Torilian sky, in lighting the plains as brightly as possible, making them shine and gleam as brightly as they would under the full light of the burning sun.

Quatre didn't care for the beauty around him. His mind was still seated in that small tavern, drifting to that small down that lay at his back for an undetermined distance.

'I crushed him.'

Burying his face into his arms, he shook with fatigue, his shoulders and mind already weak from the strain of accessing the Psychoportation science of Teleport. He had no idea where he was - all he knew is that the area he was in was near a small town named "Ormath"; that much he gleamed from his continual rape of Wufei's mind.

'I've run away. Like a cowardly human, I've run away. But I didn't have any other option; I couldn't remain around him, seeing that pain in his eyes, feeling that broken spirit, seeing that shattered aura... knowing that I'd done that to him. Gods, Quatre, why? You dumb ass. What Wufei said was true... I'd waited too long to tell him. I'd let him fall in love with me. I'd let his relationship with me progress - hells, I'd encouraged it. Letting him take liberties with my person, letting him touch me, letting him call me by name. How could I be so stupid? How could I be so careless, so callous? So cruel?'

Shivering as the night's calm breeze caressed his bare torso, snaking underneath his large black cloak to stroke his naked chest with its cool tentacles of wind, Quatre closed his eyes and bowed his head.

'I swear, I'm becoming more and more like them every day. Ever since leaving the care of the VonWinner manor, I'm... I'm being assimilated.'

'And I'm allowing this to happen.'

'I'm losing myself - I'm losing my identity. I'm forgetting what I am... why? Why am I wanting to relate myself with those inferior beings? Why am I wanting...'

"Why am I wishing I were human...?"

He stiffened as a voice quietly and mockingly whispered behind him, "I was wondering just what you were, dearest little intruder. Thank you for specifying, at least, what you are not."

Quatre stiffened. 'Why was I not able to detect something approaching...?' And, turning, he stared, sweat springing to his brow.

The lich smiled, its rotting lips forming more of a grimace than the desired gesture.

Staring at the gaunt, skeletal form, aqua eyes locked onto the black and empty eye sockets which harbored fierce pinpoints of light for eyes, Quatre slowly began to ease away from the monstrosity, shuddering as the aura of cold and darkness which radiated from the robe-clad, rotting carcass caressed him. "Lich..." he whispered under his breath, eyes wide and filled with fright.

Nodding his skull once, the undead being clad in the robes of the magi took one step forward. "So what, pray tell, are you to have the ability to teleport with those bands laced with /Magical Absorption/ seated upon your arms?"

Narrowing his eyes, Quatre remained silent, his face losing its fear and falling into grim determination. 'I'll simply detonate him. Why am I feeling fear? Why am I allowing his aura to affect me? Heh. He's only a lich...'

"Ah, you are a psionisist then." The lich cackled softly, lifting one skeletal hand, his rotting lips forming the words of the arcane and twisting them to manipulate the Weave and form his spell.

'What is he casting! No fear, Quatre. No fear. It won't affect you. The bands will absorb the effect. Just concentrate. Concentrate! I have some power left... I have some...'

Leaning over stiffly, the skeletal undead gently picked up the small animal which had appeared upon the ground before it, setting it in his flesh-coated hands and gently petting its back.

Quatre screamed.

"And if you are a psionisist, then you'll be affected by the feedings of a Brain Mole, yes? Why yes, of course you will be." Caressing the little animal, the undead wizard cackled softly. "Eat up, little beast. I'm certain this one will keep you well fed. Drain him; ensure he won't be a threat to me."

The tiny brain mole squeaked, it's mole-like body curling in the lich's hand as the undead mage grasped the screaming psionisist by an arm and dragged him in a random direction by Quatre's muddled senses.

The blonde was already unconscious before they reached the lich's underground lair.

Upon situating the fainted boy to hang by his wrists upon one of the walls of his dusty lair, the lich turned to his other captive and smirked, laying the mole on the ground near Quatre's feet. "You, girl, will be given your freedom if you can determine what he is."

The small dishwater blond girl lifted her blue-eyed gaze and wrinkled her nose. "Just keep that mole of yours away from me, wizard..."

"Of course. View his aura."

Nodding, she let her eyes become unfocused, latching upon the power that resided in the back of her mind.

She gasped.

"Feathered... aura...?"

"Meaning?" the lich quietly interjected.

"Solar..."

A twisted, diabolical sneer took the lich's lips. "Finally. What I've been searching for this entire unlife - the ultimate vessel in Godly power, with magic unrivaled by any upon the Prime Material, who's remains leave those talented with the manipulation of the Weave with spell components able to draw upon magics able to rival those of the deities themselves!"

"May I go, now?"

"Of course, dear little girl," the lich quietly cooed, laying his skeletal hand upon the young woman's head, "you may leave. Leave now and forever this world of the living."

She screamed as her very life was drawn out of her body by the /Vampiric Touch/ spell.

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Trowa frowned as he faced the band of unarmored, fez wearing, scimitar carrying mercenaries. "You're certain you didn't see anyone on the road into town? He couldn't have gotten far enough to evade your sight."

The large burly man before him snorted quietly, his wolfish features enhanced by his scowl. "I swear to you, lad. We saw not another living soul upon the road during our travels yester eve nor this morn. We've no reason to lie to you." Crossing his arms over his broad chest, the dark-skinned, black-haired man smirked wryly, setting his moustache askew over his lips. "You doubt the words of an honorable warrior of the southern deserts, do you?"

"Of course not. I'm... worried. That's all," Trowa muttered, bowing his head and glancing away.

"Very well. Then, best of luck with your searching." Nodding once, the man walked past Trowa, accompanied by his small troupe of similarly clad warriors.

"Any luck, Tro?" Duo called, walking calmly over to the acrobat's side with a frown upon his lips.

"None."

"Dammit," Duo muttered, looking around, "I just don't get it. Where could he have gotten to? And why in the name of the Nine Hells would he just run off like that?"

Bowing his head, Trowa sighed. "It's my fault."

"Your fault?" Arching a brow, Duo stared at his friend.

"Yeah. I confessed how I felt..."

"Well, duh. You've been doing that forever, my friend."

"And he told me that he didn't feel the same."

Duo stared, his pacing stopped dead in its tracks, his violet eyes huge. "What...?"

"He told me that he could never love me."

"What the fuck!" Grimacing, Duo's hands balled into fists. "That little wretched bastard... did he at least give you a fucking reason?"

"He's a Solar."

Duo blinked. "Repeat that."

"A Solar."

"That little bastard's a fucking angel?"

"Yeah."

Shaking his head, the mage grumbled, "I don't believe that."

"Think about it, Duo," the acrobat began, casting a critical look at his long-haired friend, "the bands, the spells upon them, his power despite having those devices in place, his attitude - it all makes sense. He ISN'T any child of VonWinner. He's an extraplanar being. An angel."

"And now, he's missing."

"Because... of me."

"What did you ever do?" Arching a brow, Duo scowled. "Just because you love him isn't any reason for him to take off running."

"Because I think he cares... and because I think he feels that he hurt me with his proclamation."

"Did he?"

"Momentarily."

Nodding, Duo scowled. "So you're thinking he ran off..."

"To keep from hurting me further."

"Fucking moron. He obviously doesn't know the workings of the human heart, then, does he?"

Trowa simply arched a brow.

Continuing, Duo flung a hand to the air. "Otherwise, the little idiot would know that abandoning you would hurt you more than having him around, even if he never loved you, neh?"

Nodding, the acrobat sighed, wrapping his arms around himself as he started his slow, long walk back to the tavern.

'It's all my fault.'

'I'm sorry, Quatre.'

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"We just can't leave him, Heero. Leaving that boy unsupervised is like inviting disaster to come knocking us over our skulls."

Heero simply arched a brow as he stirred his stew with his spoon, staring critically at Wufei with one brown brow arched over a piercing Prussian blue eye. "Why are you suddenly so concerned about this, Wufei? But a few days ago, you'd have gladly wished the boy dead. Now you are suggesting that we abandon our eastbound journey towards the riches of Cromyr to go looking wildly for him? What you are suggesting is ludicrous."

Rubbing his forehead, Wufei grumbled, "I know it sounds obscure, but to leave him as he is... it is not in our best interests."

"And why do you say this? As I asked earlier, why is this suddenly such an incredible concern? If you'd simply explain yourself, maybe I'd be able to understand your mind-set easier, my friend. After all, I've not the power to simply grab your reasoning from your mind as you seem to be able to, Mr. Psionisist."

"Hmph." Crossing his arms, Wufei scowled at Heero before shrugging. "Very well. You want to know the truth? I'll tell you."

"How very kind of you."

"The boy's a Solar."

"Really. I didn't know it was in your nature to tell tall-tales, Wufei," Heero muttered, lifting his soupspoon to his lips and blowing on the steaming stew.

The tiny pseudodragon, sitting primly and properly upon the table next to the Eastern warrior, snorted quietly, its multi-colored eyes swirling madly with oranges and reds.

Nodding towards the dragonette, Wufei sighed. "Even this little one has seen it. When the creature who claims itself to be VonWinner's flesh and blood supplied his own health to Duo to save him from the grim reaper's clutches, his psionic defenses dropped and allowed his aura to be fully seen. Now, you know the workings of auras, don't you, Heero?"

"Enlighten me again," the warrior grunted as he slurped his stew.

"Each individual has their own aura, their own coloration, their own pattern depending upon what they are and what paths their heart follows. Humans, for example, hold a smooth aura that billows like the fingers of foggy clouds about them. Elves' auras are ancient rings that surround them, either smooth along their edges with the touch of good or spiked like throwing stars if tainted with evil. Dwarves are a solid wall that surrounds and encases them, gnomes hold a floating aura that flickers madly, halflings resemble those of humans, as their mindsets are so similar to our own. Every life form holds their own aura. And that boy's is unique in one specific fashion."

"Which is?"

"It's feathered."

Heero's spoon stopped halfway on its journey between his mouth and his bowl, his eyes narrowing slightly. "And this had lead you to the conclusion that he is a Solar?"

"That, and the fact that the boy has told me himself. I know that he has told me the truth."

"You sensed such?"

"Yes."

Heero returned his spoon to his bowl and frowned. "Then... we've a wild Solar running amuck without supervision. And you're worried because...?"

"What if he happens to discover a way to remove those armbands which restrain his true power, Heero?"

Staring, Heero swallowed. "M... my God..."

"The entire Realms could be in danger. With his hatred of human-kind as deep and resonating as it is..."

"He won't stop in killing whoever dares be present in his vicinity. And if he truly is a Solar..."

"There will be nothing that can be done to stop him."

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Duo sighed quietly, slowly gripping the forked stick as he stared down the road. "Now, my range isn't all that impressive, 'kay?"

"But you'll be able to detect whether or not he's in the region."

"That's about it," Duo muttered with a shrug, nodding to Heero.

"Do what you can, lover," Heero sighed, laying a hand upon the mage's slender shoulder.

"No problem. One /Locate Object/ spell coming right up. Now, to find those damned armbands of his!" Grinning wildly, Duo began to chant.

Stepping back, Heero watched with fascination as the gentle magical light of the weave began to flow along Duo's fingers, running over the forked stick he held like golden water dripping from his fingernails.

Concentrating, Duo slowly turned, his eyes open to be naught but violet slivers upon his face, watching the gentle rivers of the weave reach about him, searching desperately for the armbands he had pictured in his mind.

After minutes had passed, he sighed in resignation and lowered his arms, his spell canceling out. "He's not within range of my spell, Heero."

"Meaning?"

"The kid's a psi, right? Meaning he probably used Psychoportation or something like that. He could be millions of miles away by now."

"Damn," Heero sighed quietly.

Nodding, Duo sighed as the stick he held crumbled to dust, the magics of the Weave having destroyed it thoroughly. "There's nothing we can do."

_tbc..._


	21. Chapter XX

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; _dream sequence_,_ **telepathic communication in dream sequence**_:psionic power:

A/N 2; QuickEdit is kicking my ass, so here's another formatting note. /magical spell/. Still.

_-BEGIN FIC-_

_Wufei lounged amongst the lush flowers and soft grass, his eyes closed to block the bright light of the sun, his face warm with its heated touch. A soft, whispering breeze playfully stole along the soft rainbow of delicate flower petals, coercing them to sway with its touch even as the grass rustled merrily, causing the light that shined upon its lush green expanse to skip from stalk to stalk. Another warm, gentle gust of air brushed past, tussling loose strands of raven- pitched hair and cooling sun-bronzed skin. A smile took Wufei's lips even as a content sigh escaped him. "This is pleasant," he whispered to himself, "especially with no nightmares. Just a relaxing, rejuvenating slumber with no interferences."_

_The sky of the lush dreamscape darkened to match the turn in Wufei's mood. White rolling clouds slowly blackened even as the pale blue expanse of sky fell into its midnight coloration. The flowers shuddered as the previously warm, playful breeze growled, its delicate and gleeful touch and caress replaced by a harsher stroke as it sought not to pet the petals and stalks of the thick plant life but to strangle them._

_"However, right now I'd welcome those nightmares. It would indicate that he is here with us, safe in our custody. That his mood would be supportive of tormenting others instead of being focused on self-incrimination._

_"It would mean that Trowa wouldn't be so very crushed - his heart, while leaning towards destruction, would not have already toppled over the cliff's edge into the abysmal misery of heartbreak. It would mean that Duo's spirit would still be whole; that his eyes would sparkle with that mischievous mirth they always shine with when he's found an idiot friend to get himself into trouble with. It would mean that Heero wouldn't be so overwrought with stress; he wouldn't be weighed by concern for his strangely lackadaisical partner, nor bogged down with worry for our Realms. It would mean that I wouldn't be so miserable with the knowledge that I was the one who has successfully plunged everyone into this disastrous comedy of emotional disarray."_

_The black sky shown white for but an instant, as did the sprawling hills of grass and flowers. Electrical fire left its strong acrid scent hovering in the heavy air as the lionic roar of rolling thunder chased the heels of its lightning-strike mate, crashing and booming with such force as to cause the very earth to shudder and the flowers to shiver before the awesome display of heavenly fury. Heavy drops of rain started to race towards the empty, inviting ground, hurtling from the clouds in which they were created into their suicidal plunge to meet with what lay below. They struck all without mercy - plant, petal, earth, man._

_Eyes closed, feeling the harassing attack of his dreamscape's rain soaking him, Wufei scowled. "And no matter how hard I try or how far I attempt to extend y reach, I can't sense him. His aura is lost to my eyes. He's probably got his defenses up to elude me."_

_**Chang...!**_

_"Or maybe not."_

_Instantly on his feet, his boots sinking slowly into the mud that was forming around him, Wufei looked wildly about the drenched hills. Onyx eyes wide, he stared at every flicker of light, every created aura that hovered around him, desperately seeking the pale blue aura he'd found lacking from both his dream and waking worlds. Staring, he turned on his heel, grinding soft stalk and helpless flower carelessly into the mud. As desperate moments passed, he let his voice sound into the howling storm's wind, "Where are you? I hear you Quatre, but I can't locate you."_

_**Chang...**_

_Scowling, anger beginning to overtake his misery, the young Easterner gritted his teeth. "I'm right here!"_

_**Where...? I can't see you...**_

_Brow knitted, he huffed, "Here. In that same little village you left us in."_

_Long tenuous moments passed before Quatre's psionically projected voice softly whispered, **How far?**_

"From where?" Wufei growled in frustration.

_**... Ormath?**_

_"Ormath?" a brow arching over an onyx eye, he crossed his arms over his chest, staring off to what he recalled being his imagined South East from their current real world position. "Ten days, as the raven flies. Why?"_

_Both brows arched as he heard Quatre's quiet voice whimper in dismay. Then, with a triumphant cry, he ran towards the pale blue aura that had erupted into being in the distance before him, his eyes fixated on the lush swirling feathers that encompassed it like soft bands around a planetoid, sparkling as the dreamscape's dire rain pounded into the fluffy hovering devices._

_His desperate run came to a sudden halt and his eyes widened as the intensity of that aura slowly faded and the speedy swirling of its feathers slowed. Mouth opening, he softly mouthed, "Quatre, what's happening?"_

_**Hurry. Please. I can't...**_

_"What's happening!"_

_**I can't hold on much longer. Hurry!**_

_Staring, he swallowed as the pale blue aura flickered, dying from existence for a moment before reforming, its presence a weak flicker superimposed on the vicious landscape._

_"QUATRE!"_

_The dreamscape suddenly changed. Wufei stared at his new surroundings, his wide onyx eyes absorbing every detail he could see._

_Dark brown stone surrounded him, the rectangular shapes of the blocks suggesting a structure intentionally built to serve some purpose rather than a haphazard array of rock, each block held into place by centuries old mortar. Lichens and dark brown moss coated the walls that he could see, filling in the cracks that had formed in the heavy rock. Centuries old, rotting tapestries cascaded down those walls, their dusty brown tendrils doing nothing to add life to the chamber he was trapped in. A desk was set upon the wall to his left, holding upon it an open tome who's pages he could not read from the distance at which he was being held and a vast array of colorful beakers filled with a plethora of wildly tinted liquids and odd pieces of material filling them, ivory candles' flickering flame illuminating the work bench's contents, adding their light to that cast by the torches held in the iron rod stands sporadically placed upon the walls surrounding him. Before him, iron shackles hang morosely from the stone wall, a single age-darkened bone held loosely in one and the other being free of content, the remaining construct of the unfortunate victim of those devices resting in an abandoned heap on the floor below them._

_The sound of dripping water met his ears, as did the chattering of rats hidden and scurrying within the walls around him. He could hear the crackling of the torches' flames around him, the hissing of the candles as fire heated and melted wax, the creaking of strained metal._

_He flexed his fingers slowly. Finally, the feeling of biting shackles holding him firmly upright dawned on him. Staring up, wild shock flooding his eyes, he stared at his raw wrists and the iron rings that were clamped down upon them. It was then that he felt the sting of his bleeding wrists, the wetness of filthy water that soaked his back, the lack of solid ground below his feet. And it was then that the smells accosted his nostrils - the rotting scent of the tapestries, the smell of decay flowing from the heap of bones across the room from him, the musty musk of the dying moss surrounding him, the horrid stench of the raw flesh that rested upon the workbench in one of those beakers and whatever it was that littered the floor below him, the odor of rat droppings flooding the atmosphere._

_He stiffened as he heard the creak of a door opening beside him, just out of his viewing range. And he screeched, terrified out of his mind, as he stared at the skeletal, rotting face of a scraggly haired robe- wearing creature._

_"Lich..." he hissed, breaking into a cold sweat even in the depths of his dream as the aura of cold and fear that oozed from the nightmarish creature penetrated his very being, caressing his soul. Eyes wide, he stared as the undead wizard lifted a boney hand, the dark crimson glow of the points of light that flickered within its eye sockets and served it in death as eyes glistened upon the twisted, serrated blade of the dagger it held._

_Wufei screamed as the weapon plunged down, sweeping through his abdominal wall, freeing his intestines from his body even as it harshly ripped through thick muscle and flesh. Shivering against the shackles which held him upright against the cold, damp stone wall behind him, he closed his eyes and whimpered as he felt the hot, slippery mass that was his guts slide around his legs and feet as the lich poked and probed through them, muttering about how fascinating it was that his construction was so very similar to that of mortal humans, then happily proclaiming that it was time to see if his wings were truly still present and simply reduced in size as he suspected the /Alter Self/ spell cast upon the bands that graced his arms lead him to believe they'd be._

_He wailed in agony as his body was turned and that knife flew again, leaving a hot, burning gash seeping blood across his back._

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Wufei bolted upright, a blood-curdling scream ripping from his throat.

Instantly, hands were upon him. Struggling vainly to get them off, the Eastern boy sobbed, "Stop! Please!" repeatedly, his gasping voice scratchy and thick with tears.

More hands entered the fray, pinning him down. He felt one upon each shoulder, one upon each wrist, one on his chest and one on his stomach along with the soft bed underneath him. Cracking open wary, wild onyx eyes, he stared at the concerned faces of his friends, his mind barely registering that they were present at all.

"Where... where am I?"

"Right here in the Inn, Wufei. Neh, what the hell was that all about?" Duo instantly blurted, his violet eyes huge and scared as he shifted his grip on Wufei's shoulders, his braid pooling beside the Eastern man's head upon his pillow, its tip resting upon his bronzed cheek.

"Quatre..."

"What about him?" "You know something!" "Do you know where he is?" erupted from three throats at the same moment.

Selecting Trowa's desperate voice, he nodded. "He's near Ormath. I don't know the exact location."

"How...?" the bewildered acrobat breathed, releasing Wufei's wrist and lifting his hand from his stomach.

"He contacted me."

Duo's voice suddenly cut in, "Neh, neh! So why were you screaming?"

Shuddering, the warrior closed his eyes. "Because he established contact. Because I saw what he's seeing. I felt what he's feeling. And let me simply say that if we don't find him quickly, his captor is going to find out whether or not a Solar can truly die on the Prime Material plane."

"Then let's go."

Everyone turned to face Duo.

Lifting his gaze, the mage looked them over, his brow furrowed, his chestnut bangs overshadowing his amethyst-hard, deathly serious eyes. Grimacing, Duo nodded.

"Let's get to Ormath."

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Trowa's hands shook as he packed his bag. 'Quatre, we'll reach you. Please, please hold on! I'm coming for you!'

'Because I don't care if you are some extraplanar creature. I don't care if you're not mortal. I don't care if you're a Solar, if you're a Pit Fiend. Demon, angel, it makes no difference. What you are doesn't determine who you are.'

'And it's your soul that I'm attracted to.'

'I don't care if the mandates of your God prevent you from loving me. I will always love you, no matter what you are, where you are.'

'Wait for me! Please!'

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Duo frowned as he sat at the table, Heero at his side, staring into the crystal ball that rested before him. "I'm just so iffy 'bout usin' this, you know? Don't know how many charges it has left."

Placing a hand lightly upon Duo's shoulder, Heero sighed quietly. "But remember Wufei's words? We must locate him as quickly as possible."

"Yeah... but this'll take a long time."

Turning his cold Prussian stare to the large crystal orb that sat in its small golden ring at the table's center, he nods. "One hour, Duo. You should be able to locate him within one hour. I will have to discuss with Wufei how we're going to get to Ormath; it's a long journey, and if what he says is true, Lord VonWinner doesn't have that much time to spare."

Glancing over his shoulder at his lover, violet eyes sparkling, Duo smirked and chuckled. "Ask him if he can :Dream Travel:."

":Dream Travel:...? Why?"

"Because if he can, that'll save us a shit load of trouble. Trust me on this, honey."

"Very well. While I interrogate him, will you please just use that?"

"Fine, fine. But if it runs out of charges and crumples to dust, don't blame me! And don't you DARE expect me to go on another fucking goblin-lair raid with you to fetch you another one. I almost died the last damned time."

"Right."

As Heero left the room, Duo sighed and lightly laid his tapered fingertips upon the crystalline orb. Violet eyes narrowing, he frowned and nodded. "Let's do this."

Conjuring a picture of Quatre in his mind, he let his eyes lose focus, staring deeply into the perfect sphere that he held between his fingertips, staring into the twisting colors formed by the Weave in the endless center of its being.

Soon his eyes were witnessing the flow of grass that was the Shining Plains, gazing down upon them as if he were a bird upon the wings of magic.

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Heero nodded as he entered Wufei's room. "Duo's using the scrying orb."

"Excellent. How long do you think it will be until that incompetent mage finds him?"

"It shouldn't be long. An hour or less."

Sighing softly, the Easterner calmly shouldered his pack. "Very well."

"So, how are we planning to get there?"

Stopping in his motions, Wufei glanced over at Heero, noting the crossed arms and easy posture of a man intent on not going anywhere any time soon. "Horseback, most likely."

"It'll take us nearly two weeks to reach him."

"Do you have any brilliant ideas?" Wufei snorted softly. "I can only take so much with me when I :Dimension Door:."

"Duo said something about :Dream Travel:."

Staring, Wufei's onyx eyes widened. ":Dream Travel:..."

"Ah, so you do know of the power. Can you utilize it?"

Snorting quietly, Wufei sighed. "I can try. It's incredibly unreliable, though... if anything happens within the dream, we could end up completely off our mark and lost. Or maybe not travel anywhere at all. And, in the worst possible scenario..."

"It could kill us?"

"I don't think so. But... stranger effects have not been unknown."

"You mean madness."

"Aa. Also, it will be very draining on me. Especially to take all four of us."

Heero nodded slowly. "But would you be willing to do it? The very fate of the Realms may be at stake. And..."

"And?"

"Duo has been speaking to me. About Quatre."

Wufei's eyes narrowed slightly, even as Heero's head bowed.

With a soft sigh, the brown-haired warrior shook his head. "And I think we may have been royally mistaken about his intentions. He may not be one to be loathed and feared, but rather an innocent who we should have attempted to protect and shelter from the cruelty of the world. Rather, we thrust him into the cruelty that awaits all unprepared for reality, angered by his disposition. We didn't realize that, perhaps, he couldn't control his reaction towards us and thus reacted inappropriately. So..."

The Easterner arched a brow, nodding encouragement for the other to finish.

"So I'd like to find him. And apologize."

"I understand."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the pair as each reflected upon their own reactions and intentions.

"Let us see how Duo is progressing."

"Hai."

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Duo had progressed surprisingly well, pointing happily while chattering to Trowa how he knew exactly where the blonde Solar was being held captive.

Leaning over Duo's shoulder, Wufei peered into the orb. "Very good, Duo. Thank you."

The violet-eyed mage toppled over on his bench, hand grasping his chest. "Holy... holy Cyric! He... he complimented me! Gaaaa, I'm dyin' here!"

And, rolling his eyes, Wufei clipped his ear with a shortly swung fist before marching back to the stairs that lead to his room. "All of you, pack. We :Dream Travel: tonight."

":Dream Travel:" Trowa quietly mouthed.

Duo grinned happily, before chirping, "Wicked cool!"

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Carefully and cautiously checking his companions to ensure that they were asleep, the Eastern psionisist tiptoed between them. All of their equipment was in order, as were their weapons. Curled on the stable hay with them was a pair of horses, resting fitfully under the /Sleep/ spell Duo had managed to cast over them.

Wufei slowly slid under his own cover upon the incredibly soft mattress of hay and closed his eyes, reaching into the depths of his mind to access the growing pool of psionic strength that he'd discovered existed not long ago.

Tapping that power, he let his mind drift into slumber.

And that power erupted over all of them, twisting all of their minds into its single effervescent aura, plunging them into the chaos of the land of dreams.

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_Trowa was the first to open his eyes._

_Glancing around, he stared, completely stunned with the beauty that surrounded him. "Wow," he softly whispered, his emerald eyes absorbing the vision of the sprawling hills of grass buried under the blanket of spring flowers that sprouted from the rich earth below his feet. Taking in the rainbow of reds and whites laced with yellows, purples, pinks and oranges mixed with nearly every other color he could ever remember having seen across the span of his nineteen years of life, he felt his jaw hang loosely open yet made no effort to close it._

_"Beautiful, isn't it?"_

_Swallowing a startled yelp, he turned sharply, setting his gaze upon Wufei who stood calmly behind him, his arms crossed loosely over his chest and his eyes absorbing his surroundings much as Trowa's had but moments before._

_"What is it?" Trowa ventured to ask, returning to staring at the sprawling expanses around them._

_"Home."_

_Duo sat up from the bed of flowers, stretching and yawning before letting his tired eyes open. "Mmph. We there yet?"_

_"Baka. We've yet to go anywhere."_

_"Dammit! What're we waiting for?"_

_"Your dumb horses and Heero to get into the dream. Or, more appropriately, your dumb horses and Heero to awaken into the dream."_

_"OYE, HEE-CHAN! GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP!"_

_As the warrior was kicked firmly in his sides and the horses stirred thanks to Duo's loud, unwarranted yell, the sky suddenly turned pitch black, the flowers withering and dying as an icy wind blew across the rolling hills._

_"What's happening?" Trowa quietly whispered, looking about, his eyes widening with fright._

_Everyone stared as Wufei swallowed harshly, watching as masses of white began to ooze out of the ground._

_One particular figure formed at the head of the skeletal forces that clawed their way free from the earth, standing tall over all but Trowa, its bony frame encased in blackened armor, its eyes red points within its skull, its bony hands holding its darkened, tainted, unholy sword in its clutches._

_Slowly drawing his weapon even as Heero did the same, Wufei held it nervously in shaking hands, his mind not so fearful of the battle as it was of the power wielded by whoever had done what he had thought to be impossible._

_"The dream's been invaded."_

_tbc..._


	22. Chapter XXI

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; _dream sequence_, **_Telepathic communication in dream sequences, _**/magical spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

_The huge knight fully emerged from the ground. _

_Standing now over even Trowa, its massive seven foot frame clad in what may have once been shining, exquisite plate armor that was now blackened as if burned, its skull face leered at the adventuring party before it. Drawing the massive shield that it carried upon its left arm back, it swept its longsword that it held in its right before it, denoting its challenge. Orange-red fire gleaming in the skull's otherwise empty sockets, it stared the small party down, fear and cold emanating from its massive armored hulk. An icy wind blowing past rustled the flowing, tattered gray cloak that hung around its guarded shoulders, flapping in the breeze as he began its approach, each step clanking loudly to confirm the validity of the armor it wore, belaying it to be no illusory image. _

_Duo's eyes widened as he slowly backed away from the approaching skeletal masses, his hands before him and his teeth nearly set to chattering. "Someone's penetrated the dream?" he softly breathed, his voice quaking at the possible consequences that one particular statement held for them all. _

_Wufei simply nodded, his visage as calm as it could possibly be as he held his sword before his body, its shaking tip the only thing belaying his true fright. "Aa. Someone significantly more powerful than I am." _

_Trowa uttered a quiet curse. "What do we do? Do you think they can really hurt us? I mean, after all, this IS just a dream right?" _

_It was then that the huge knight that was leading the group of skeletons laughed and spoke, its eerie, dark masculine voice erupting from its long dead, decaying throat through its smiling, lip-less jaws. _

_"We did not break in with psionics." _

_All conversation amongst the companions came to an utter end, as they diverted their attention to their approaching enemy. "What?" Duo questioned, even as he started readying his components for his small ensemble of spells. _

_Again, the Death Knight chuckled. "We did not infiltrate the dream with psionics. Rather, magic gave us access." _

_Wufei gulped, even as Duo gritted his teeth and shouted, "That's fucking impossible! There's no spell known that can infiltrate a psionisist's dream, you lyin' shit-bag!" _

_Wufei sighed softly. "You're incorrect." _

_Turning questioning eyes to his friend, the longhaired mage whimpered, "What do you mean?" _

_"Quatre's being held by a lich. He's had hundreds, if not thousands of years to develop his own private spells whose likes will have never been seen by the remainder of the Realms." _

_Heero's voice cut into the verbal fray, snorting nasally, "Meaning that, in this dream, we could very well die." _

_"Yes." _

_Nodding, the Prussian Blue eyed man whispered the command word that activated the magic of his Flametongue longsword, bringing the weapon to life, drawing magical, searing fire to existence upon its glistening, cracked edge. "Then we'd best not be simply standing about. If this battle can affect us in this dream as it could in the waking world, we'd best do what we do best." _

_His three friends simply stared at him. _

_Sneering, his eyes focused directly on the knight who stood as leader before the skeletal horde, his gaze locked with that of the Death Knight and no shred of fear showing upon his person despite the cold aura that flowed from the Knight to create such, Heero chuckled. "We attack, gentlemen." _

_All said, Heero tightened his grip upon his sword and leapt forward, his challenge his war cry upon his lips as he charged towards the massive black-armored knight. _

_Gray and green cloaks fluttered in the icy wind as the clang of the two longswords being brought together with nearly weapon-shattering strength echoed across the black, doomed fields._

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The lich cackled softly.

Seated before its prisoner, the undead mage sat at its working table. The beakers of liquid and sampled flesh had been set aside to make room for its newest prized piece of equipment, a crystal ball. Glistening in the dim firelight that illuminated the chamber, the clear sphere glimmered merrily in the otherwise dull, lifeless environment. Within its very depths, though, light did not and could not penetrate the scene being displayed.

"Why, look at this, my dear little Solar," the mage softly breathed, its voice grating through its rotting throat, "your friends are so foolhardy as to attack my minions, even though they do realize that it is more than possible for them to perish within the raven-haired one's dream. Such bravery, no?"

The small blond boy, hanging by his wrists from shackles permanently buried in the wall behind him, lifted his head tiredly. Forcing his blood-encrusted lashes to part, he stared with dim, glazed over, cloudy aquamarine eyes at the ball that rested as the focal point of the wizard's desk, his lips remaining sealed shut even as he watched the occurrences within the sphere.

'Heero...' his mind softly breathed.

He stared as the young warrior brought his weapon against that of the Death Knight once more then swiftly lifted his bracer-protected left arm to ward off the knight's second swing of his dreaded sword. The weapon skipped along the metal device, then sank cleanly into the exposed flesh that rested behind it.

"No...!" the blonde softly whimpered, his voice finally coming to him as he watched the brown-haired man back away a few steps, his arm hanging limply at his side even as his sword tumbled out of his right hand to allow that appendage to grasp his wound, attempting vainly to slow the flow of blood.

"You see, boy?" the mage cackled softly, its whispered voice grating along the chamber walls and flooding Quatre's ears. "Their stubborn resolve to rescue you would seem to be unbending. Their stupidity in not realizing the severity of the consequences they shall have delivered upon their persons will result in their deaths long before they can set foot outside of my lair with even the faintest hope of rescuing you."

Quatre stared at the crystal ball, horror flooding his slowly opening eyes.

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_"HEERO!" Duo cried out, watching the longsword fall from his lover's suddenly limp hand, watching the red liquid of life pouring from his arm like wine spilled from a full goblet. Attempting to rush forward, he was stopped by Wufei. "Damn it, let me past! He's hurt!" Duo bit sharply, glowering at his friend. _

_"The knight won't attack until he's ready." _

_"What?" _

_"Look, Duo," Wufei murmured, "the knight has lowered his sword. He is waiting for Heero to be readied for battle again." _

_The mage stared, even as Trowa's voice flowed from the darkness behind him, stating, "The Death Knights follow the same code of honor they adhered to in life, even if their purposes are twisted for evil. They were paladins, Duo. He will not strike an unarmed, unprepared opponent." _

_"However, those skeletons will. And, as he does work for the darker forces, the Death Knight will do nothing to stop them," Wufei stated blandly. _

_All three watched as the skeletal horde, numbering fifty in all, began their charge towards the injured man with wild cackling hovering at their teeth and fierce red fires flickering with sadistic glee in their empty skulls' sockets. _

_"Fuck me if they will," Duo growled, gripping his staff and stepping a few paces to his left, attempting to give himself a firing range clear of friends yet filled with foes. _

_Trowa nodded, watching. "What should I do, Wufei? There isn't anything I can effectively do in this dream. I'm no good at hand-to- hand combat. My skills rely upon the shadows and the environment of the city." _

_Nodding, the psionic warrior kept his eyes upon the skeletal horde, blinking as the roaring fireball Duo brought into being temporarily offset the darkness of the nightmarish dream. "Take one of the horses and ride away from this battle. Hopefully, should we make it out of this nightmare, you'll have kept at least one mount safe. If anyone is injured, we'll be needing it." _

_"Got'cha. What are you planning to do?" _

_Wufei sighed softly. "I don't know. But, one way or another, I WILL bring this dream to an end... whether we get to Ormath or not." _

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_Heero grunted as he hefted his sword once more, his left arm still limp but its bleeding slowed. Snarling the command word to activate the sword's magic once more, he brought the weapon to bear once more. _

_"You still continue to challenge?" the knight said, a cackle following his statement. _

_"Of course." _

_With a laugh, the knight nodded. "Then you shall die. You shall /DIE/." _

_Heero staggered, his sword falling again, falling to his knees. Hand curling against the breastplate he wore, his eyes wide and sweat trickling down his temples, he whimpered as his heart's beating fluttered, stopping then suddenly restarting once more. Magic... /Power word kill/...' his mind instantly recognized, even as he felt his strength flag when he attempted to regain his feet. Fuck!'_

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"See, little Solar? Your friends are no match for my dear Death Knight. Already, he's nearly struck down one of your most powerful party members, and he's received nary a scratch to his armor."

Quatre stared with horror-filled eyes at the glistening globe of crystal upon the lich's table, tears beginning to well upon his eyelashes.

'No! He's... he's dying. He's going to die. He's going to die...'

He whimpered as he heard Heero scream once more, recognizing the sounds of sword sinking deeply into flesh and the dripping of precious life- sustaining blood followed by the clang of a wildly wielded sword attempting desperately to beat the offending weapon delivering the dire cut away.

And, as hot tears began to fall from his eyes, Quatre stared.

'Why am I crying? I... I'm feeling sorrow over this... over the sacrifice of a mortal. Why? Isn't it their position to do this? Aren't they destined to die as it is?'

'But this death...! This isn't right. To die, attempting to rescue me...'

'It's what should happen. They are mortal, I am a direct descendent of the Gods. They are human, I am Solar. It's their place.'

'But... he's fighting for me, not out of obligation, but out of...'

'Out of friendship.'

More hot tears trickling down his cheeks, Quatre shook his head.

'Friendship.'

'Even though I've been so cruel to them, they still want to rescue me out of the bonds of mortal friendship.'

'I can't let them die!'

Focusing his mind, Quatre gritted his teeth. The intruding presence of the small Brain Mole, held in its cage beside him, still gnawed at his mind, keeping his Power Pool constantly dwindling and hovering upon the edge of decimation. However, he could feel some of it remaining. And, latching onto those few precious fragments of psionic strength he still had, Quatre closed his eyes and attempted to do what he, too, had thought to impossible.

He attempted to shatter the dream.

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_Heero laid, broken and burnt, blood leaking slowly from his body, upon the cold dark ground as the chilling effects of the /Wall of Ice/ that had been conjured in the air above him to crush him slowly wore off with the spell's end. Lifting his head, he grimaced as he attempted to gain his feet. _

_"And still you fight, human. Have you not learned to take mercy when it is granted to you?" _

_Heero sneered, slowly getting to his knees, grasping his sword in his mangled hand. _

_"Stay down, and you live," the knight said, its orange-red fiery eyes glistening as they set their gaze upon the downed man. _

_"At what cost?" Heero quietly grunted, slowly struggling to his feet. "If I do not face you, you will progress to your true target. I saw your gaze resting upon Wufei. You realize that this dream is his doing, and your mission is to remove him... to stop us. Because..." _

_"Because?" _

_"Because your master truly fears us." _

_The knight nodded. "Wisely deduced, young warrior." _

_"And that is why I'll not simply lie down here and die, even though such is what my body is craving. I'm going to protect my friends. I'm going to protect my Duo. I'm going to protect Trowa and Wufei. And, most of all, I'm going to protect the Solar called Quatre... if not for his own good, then for the good of these Realms." _

_Gaining his feet, Heero snarled as he yanked his sword upright, his own blood dripping from its pommel. _

_"I care not if you can not defeat me honorably. I care not if you are going to kill me. Because, with Tempos as my witness, I do hereby swear by the very God of War who I revere that I shall take you with me from the world." _

_Staring at the warrior, digesting his challenge, the knight chuckled and brought his weapon to bear once more, crossing it with Heero's sword. _

_"Very well, young man," the undead knight breathed, "your challenge is accepted. Let us battle, then, till the onset of true death." _

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_Yet another skeleton exploded. _

_Panting, attempting to draw breath that refused to come to his oxygen- starved lungs, Wufei stared at the hordes that continued to press in around him. 'Damn it! Will this never end?' _

_**Behind you!** _

_Gripping his sword, he spun suddenly on his feet, swinging the katana with nearly inhuman strength, bringing it crashing through the skeleton that'd approached from behind. As the bones of the creature dissolved into dust, completely obliterated, Wufei turned his dark gaze to the small pseudodragon that flitted over him and nodded. **My thanks.**_

_**No time. The mage and the warrior are both in trouble.** _

_Wufei stared, then growled. **I'll never reach either of them in time. Please, go assist one of them!** _

_The small dragonette, with a swift nod of its scaled head and wink of multifaceted, multicolored eyes, quickly flew towards the wounded brown-haired fighter, its tiny jaws open with a mighty roar proportional to its minute size. _

_Wufei stared as the pseudodragon flew directly for the Death Knight, only to stop its wild flight and plop down gracefully upon Heero's shoulders, wrapping itself tightly about his neck without choking him, biting upon its own tail to keep itself secured upon him. _

_Heero fought on without notice or care, his sword crashing into that wielded by the Death Knight and crackling threateningly. _

_'I get it. The knight still has more magic left - the dragon can share its resistance to magic with whoever it's in physical contact with. Perfect plan, little one!' _

_Suddenly Wufei staggered, holding his head, his eyes wide as yet another presence broke into his already nightmarish dream. _

_And the swords of the undead fell. _

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_Trying his damnedest to ignore the little dragonette that had suddenly wrapped itself about his neck, Heero lifted his sword barely in time to block the oncoming swing of the Death Knight, grimacing as his muscles strained under the force of the undead being's heavy-handed blow. Snarling, he cursed the tiny dragon. "What do you think you're doing!" he cried out, even as the dragonette hissed at him. _

_"/Fireball/ " the knight growled. _

_Heero's eyes grew huge as the huge ball of hot flame, its heat comparable to that of the Dracolich's dire breath, roared towards him. _

_It suddenly vanished. _

_"Wha...!" _

_With a purr, multifaceted eyes glowing with blues and greens, the tiny dragon stared at him smugly. _

_The knight growled in anger, bringing his weapon to bear once more. "Damn you," his otherworldly voice grumbled from deep within his armored being, "utilizing a damned pseudodragon for its magical resistance!" _

_Heero blinked, then grinned. 'Magic is suddenly out of the question, eh? So this is to be a battle strictly of swords.' _

_'I have a chance.' _

_Bringing his weapon before himself once more, relieved to see that the dragonette's magically resistant body didn't affect the functioning of his sword in any fashion, he brought the fire-drenched weapon above his head and brought it down with a wild scream of fury. _

_The crashing clang of the two weapons meeting echoed through the dreamscape, bringing everything to a halt. _

_And, as Heero staggered back a pace, he stared at the hilt he held in his hand, not bothering to watch the shattered remains of his enchanted sword scatter themselves about the field. _

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_Duo's eyes roved wildly, trying to take in everything that was happening at once. He stared as Wufei fell to the onslaught of five skeleton-wielded longsword, blood flying from the wielded weapons even as his form was lost in the chaotic heap that was his attacker. He stared as Heero threw the hilt of his broken sword at the Death Knight, hoping to have some luck and strike the dire undead as it approached, its sword upraised and prepared for the kill. He stared as Trowa suddenly burst back onto the scene, riding one of the party's two horses and leading the other by the reigns, a spear hastily fashioned of a tree's limb obtained from somewhere within the dream in his free hand and a scream of determination upon his lips as he charged the armored skeletal warrior. He stared as the tiny pseudodragon launched itself from Heero's neck and landed upon the Death Knight's face, miniature claws digging into rotting flesh and small, fiercely toothed jaws sunk into its eye sockets, attempting to nibble it to death as its minute stinger sank itself into the creature's neck, ineffectively poisoning the dead being. _

_'I can't help...' _

_His /Magic Missiles/ roared into being, destroying those who attempted to approach him. _

_'I can't help...!' _

_Drawing his hands forward, his final spell upon his lips, he whimpered as he spread his fingers in a fan, prepared to blast his /Burning Hands/ spell. _

_'I can't help!' _

_**Yes, you can.** _

_Duo stared as suddenly those who approached him stopped moving. Staring wildly about, his eyes widened. _

_Everything had stopped. _

_"What the fuck!" he exclaimed, staring at his unmoving surroundings, spinning about. _

_**Statis field.** _

_He blinked. Then, smiling as recognition finally struck his mind, he laughed. "Quatre!" _

_**No time for pleasantries. I can't maintain this for much longer. He's already noticing that I'm interfering... He's already coming...**_

_Duo blinked, hearing the small voice whimper. "Wha... what can I do?" _

_**Just remember that this is a dream!** the tiny psionic voice whimpered quietly, just as the projected presence vanished and time resumed around the mage. _

_"Remember that this is a dream..." _

_Duo's brow furrowed as he scratched his chin. _

_"This is a dream." _

_Suddenly, realization dawned on him. Drawing his hands forward, he smirked at the undead creatures that still approached him, swords uplifted and screams of victory upon their lips. _

_/PRISMATIC WALL/ _

_A vertical, opaque wall - a shimmering, multicolored plane of light that flashed all colors of the visible spectrum - erupted into being before the mage, leaping from the Weave into reality. Those who charged ran into it without realization of its existence until it was far too late. _

_As skeletons crumbled into dust, turned to stone or simply vanished as the colors sent them to alternate Planes, the mage laughed. _

_"That's right! This is just a dream! Meaning..." _

_"Meaning I can do anything I've ever wished." _

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_Wufei beat those who attacked him off himself and staggered back to his feet just in time to see the /Prismatic Wall/ erupt into being. "What the hell!" he murmured, his eyes huge. _

_Then, realization struck him as well. _

_'He's realized this is just a dream. He's realized that his magic here isn't limited to the bonds that constrain him in the waking world. Then, he can... he can...!' _

_Even as Trowa's ill-crafted spear broke as it plunged through the small opening between breastplate and helm in the Death Knight's armor and the small dragonette was thrown from the undead being's face, even as the knight's sword plunged home and skewered the warrior who'd just drawn his dagger through his chest, Wufei turned his attention to the mage. _

_"Teleport them all!" _

_Duo turned and stared at the warrior as his scream echoed across the plains. "What!" _

_"Get in there and teleport them all to the site you saw in the crystal orb! Get them to the lich's lair now!" _

_"But...!" _

_Grunting, the warrior marched over to the mage, taking care not to touch the huge shimmering wall of color. "Listen. You can do whatever you like in this dream. Wraithform. The Death Knight won't be able to touch you. Simply touch each one of them and teleport away." _

_"But... you..." _

_Wufei smirked. "I'm going to finish this. It's my dream." _

_Duo grinned, nodding. "And you're...?" _

_"I'm going to end it in the most volatile fashion I can dream up." _

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_Trowa pulled tightly on the reins of the horse that he rode, similarly slacking on the reins of the one he lead, letting that one barrel into the Death Knight, knocking the skeletal warrior off his feet. Snorting, he glanced down at Heero. _

_Emerald eyes widened. _

_"Oh Gods, no..." _

_The shriek of a dying horse drew his attention, and he lifted his gaze to witness the horse he'd stood upon the Death Knight being cleanly cloven in half by the undead warrior's enchanted sword. Releasing the now worthless reins, he pulled violently upon those of the horse he rode, forcing it into a hasty retreat from the undead being. _

_The tiny dragonette suddenly appeared, having flown unnoticed to the acrobat and landed on the horse's head just as a viciously cast /Wall of Ice/ was cast, its effects to be centered upon them. _

_Trowa blinked, staring as the wall appeared on either side of himself and the horse, its effects on them negated by the pseudodragon's natural resistance against the harmful effects of the Weave. _

_"Thank you, little one," Trowa softly breathed, lightly caressing the pseudodragon's head, eliciting a purr of satisfaction from the creature. It turned its head, staring at him with multifaceted eyes that flickered between blue and red. _

_"You want to attack this fucker?" _

_The little head nodded. _

_"Fine. I'll cover you." _

_Pulling a dagger from the waistline of his breeches, Trowa snarled at the knight, bringing the horse charging in once more. _

_Suddenly, his charge was interrupted. The horse reared, neighing in fear as the black tendrils of night enveloped it. _

_They were no longer on the death-coated field. _

_Trowa blinked, staring with wild eyes at his new surroundings. _

_The afternoon sun glistened merrily upon the Shining Plains, their green grasses swaying as a gentle breeze rustled through the lush plant stalks, the silvery tint held by the unique vegetation sparkling like fine platinum. _

_"We're...!" _

_Duo's voice chuckled from beside him, even as the black mists that'd surrounded himself and the horse slowly materialized into the braided mage. _

_"We're by the lich's lair." _

_Both adventurers stared at the huge gaping hole that was before them, leading into darkness._

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"So, your little friends have managed to make it to Ormath," the lich breathed, its voice cracking slightly with what could be interpreted either as fright or excitement. "Do you truly think, little Solar, that they can be victorious against me?"

Quatre smirked weakly but defiantly. "We shall see. Maybe they can."

"I do so highly doubt it. Once he comes into the waking world once more, the little mage will find himself just as useless as he was before. The man he claims as his lover will die. And the psionisist will not escape his own dream."

"You make predictions far too early, lich."

Glancing over, the red fires that served as its eyes glistening with annoyance, the undead mage huffed. "And what leads you to say that, Angel?"

"Simple. You can not see the probabilities before you."

"And you can?"

"Quite easily. They've more of a chance than you're letting yourself believe, mage. If you wish to continue this unlife of yours, you'd best be prepared."

A small smile graced the beaten, wounded blonde's blood-encrusted lips.

"Never underestimate the power of the human spirit. Especially when it is laced with love. It can be one of the most potent, powerful forces in the universe - a perfect weapon that even you and your magic will find impossible to destroy."

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_Wufei watched as his companions vanished, and nodded with satisfaction. _

_'Time to end this.' _

_Slowly, calmly, the young man closed his eyes, blocking the vision of the enraged Death Knight charging towards him, ignoring the clattering of the charging skeletons that remained after Duo's spells and his sword had decimated their numbers, unfeeling as the cold wind of doom blasted over his form. _

_He focused, instead, upon the structure woven into his dream. _

_'The high rolling mountains to the north. Source of strength and stability, the mighty turtle. Offset by the roving, slow flowing, winding river to the South, the direction of the indomitable phoenix. To the west, the soft hills covered in their green forests. Tiger, guardian. And to the east, the rolling hills that protect this land from the sea, housing the great dragon.' _

_His mind focused on the east. _

_The dreamscape was bathed in white light as the hills to the east suddenly exploded, freeing the white pearl-scaled dragon that rested within the soft soil into the darkened atmosphere. Opening its mighty jaws, the beast roared in fury, its echoing cadence of its power deafening as it shook the very land below it. _

_'The dragon - the embodiment of her.' _

_The enormous beast reached towards the heavens, wind rushing through the mane that flowed down the length of is serpentine body. Peaking near the very stars themselves, the dragon wrenched its body back towards the Earth below, its jaws parted, pure white flame erupting from its throat as black eyes narrowed and nostrils flared. _

_'Victorious over all as she always was in life...' _

_As his foes screamed, the hot touch of the dragon's fire scolding them before completely incinerating them, Wufei calmly opened his eyes. Facing the dragon's face as it hovered before him, its claws firmly seated upon the hills it came from, he lightly caressed the dragon's glistening white scales. _

_'Meiran... thank you for your aid.' _

_The dream dissolved around him, the field slowly coming back to life and the sun peeking shyly out of the shadows as the dragon melted into the woman he knew and loved, wrapping her arms around him and tenderly kissing, scolding him for not waking up when his friends were in dire need of his aid._

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Duo and Trowa screeched in fright as the psionisist suddenly appeared beside them.

"Wufei! Dammit, warn us before you do that, will you!" Duo exclaimed, huffing and puffing as he let his staff drop from his hands and covered his heart.

"Indeed," Trowa murmured, sheathing his daggers.

Snorting, lightly patting the pseudodragon's head as the tiny lizard alighted to his shoulder and perched, he shook his head. "You two are truly hopeless."

"Hn," Trowa huffed.

"How's Heero?" Wufei softly asked.

It was Duo who responded. "He's not going to last very long. We don't have any Healing Potions remaining, and... and I'm no priest..."

Wufei sighed and nodded. "Then, if we're going to rescue the boy, we'd best do so quickly.

Duo snorted, "Yeah. If you fuckers let his death be in vain, I'll kill you both."

Trowa simply nodded as Wufei walked towards the gaping hole that supposedly lead to the lich's lair. Glancing over at the acrobat, the young warrior frowned. "Coming?"

"Of course." Slipping one dagger into his hand, he walked to Wufei's side and nodded, leaving Duo and the party's one remaining horse to stay upon the generally safe surface of the plains with the mortally wounded fighter.

The shadows roiled as they were penetrated by two humans and their pseudodragon companion.

_tbc..._


	23. Chapter XXII

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; **Telepathic communication** :psionic power:

A/N 2; Once again having butt kicked by QuickEdit. /magical spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Trowa and Wufei slowly stepped into the enveloping darkness that awaited them, both wary and alert.

"Wait a moment, Wufei," Trowa quietly whispered as he knelt upon the hard ground below and began rummaging through the bottomless pouch that hung at his side.

"What are you doing?"

"Light. We won't be able to see anything once we delve further in and away from the light of the sun."

The psionisist stopped in his tracks. 'That's right. I can use the powers of infravision, as can the pseudodragon upon my shoulder, but Trowa can not.' Staring at his companion, watching as he struck steel upon flint over the oil-soaked torch's head, Wufei sighed softly. 'But it will make us more of a target, having this light. It will draw whatever's in these catacombs to us.'

As Trowa rose and nodded to Wufei, he frowned. "I know it'll bring attention to us, friend. That's what you're concerned about, right? Can read it off your face. Some things can't be avoided."

"Right," Wufei grunted quietly, his hand already resting comfortably upon the hilt of his katana.

"So, shall we head onward?"

"Of course."

And, taking stock of their situation, they continued on into darkness, the orange flicker of the torch their only light.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

The tiny blonde whimpered softly as the wizard's icy cold dead fingers gently caressed his cheek, leaving long red scratches to well with bright red blood where they traveled, where their nails had marred the previously perfect skin.

"So, your little friends are coming for you," the lich quietly whispered, its voice a mere breathe of a breeze past Quatre's ears.

Shivering, opening bruised eyes, the small boy chuckled softly. "Yes, they are."

"And you're still so certain that they'll be successful?"

"Of course."

The mage cackled quietly, even as it reached behind its prisoner, pressing its sharp pointed fingertips into the slices in the Solar's back, gripping one tiny protrusion from the boy's shoulder blades and wrenching it harshly. Rotting lips forming a cynical grimace of a smug smile, the lich chortled. "Without you to aid them, little Angel, they'll never succeed."

Quatre's eyes squinted tightly, trying to block the onset of tears that threatened to spill from his eyes due to the pain radiating from his back.

He shivered, attempting to remain perfectly still as he felt the undead mage's fingertips slowly caress the recently healed wound that marred his torso, where his intestines had been spilled but a short day ago.

"You forget, little Angel. I've most of what I need from you. Your blood, a sample of your flesh, a sliver of bone, a strand of feather. I've enough to create spells that are like has never before been seen. I've enough, perhaps, to even rend the barrier between our mortal magics and those divine powers you and yours amongst the Archons enjoy. The substance of an Angel to incur Angelic power is all I desired from you. Anything else is a fringe benefit."

Quatre cried out as the hand cruelly dug into his flesh, freeing blood from his body once more, letting its skeletal construction be darkened by ruby vitae that ran thickly along its length.

"And, should your little friends prove too much of a difficulty, I'll simply destroy you and leave your body for them to find. Thus, not only will I save myself, I'll have the pleasure of knowing that I've defeated your supposedly undefeatable little party."

"Why?" Quatre gasped through the pain that flooded his senses, racing along every nerve that was his being.

"Because, Angel. I am to be the only one to have the treasure that is you. I am to be the only one in these Realms to have the secret of your power. And I do not wish to risk everything I have gained by capturing and studying you to some childish little thief and his psionic friend. Best to lose the specimen and retain my components and knowledge gleaned than risk myself in battle with these wild, desperate children and risk not only losing the parts of you I've gleaned but also having the knowledge you contain spread, the components you can supply being made available to my rivals, or my own unlife being brought to an end.

"Nay, Angel. Rather to see you dead than to see them successful."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa dragged himself down the corridor. "Does this damned thing never end?" he muttered under his breath, even as the pseudodragon on Wufei's shoulder lazily collapsed into a sprawl around the warrior's neck.

Wufei glanced about. Indeed, the corridor had failed to change in any significant feature during their entire journey. Still it was constructed of the same brown-gray stone that had made up its construction for the entire journey. Still, it was a good three feet above Trowa's head, indicating it to be about nine feet in total height. Still, it was wide enough for the two of them to walk comfortably side by side, being approximately equivalent in width to its height. Still, the ground was the hard, slightly damp soil they'd been trouncing upon for the last couple hours, its grade slanted slightly downhill in the direction they were going, steadily taking them further and further underground.

More suddenly than they expected, the corridor finally did change.

It became a dead end.

"What the hell?" Wufei growled, glaring at the brown-gray stone wall before them, his onyx eyes narrowed and glistening with barely suppressed rage. "We travel all this way for a dead end!"

Trowa sighed, before shaking his head. "This doesn't make any sense at all. There's got to be a secret door or a hidden passage to an adjoining corridor around here somewhere. It makes no sense to have such a long corridor coming to a dead end."

"Or maybe the wall itself is an illusion," the Easterner suggested with a shrug.

"You might be right. Or the passage may continue on the other side. It may be thin enough to cut or blast our way through."

The tiny pseudodragon lifted its head and stared at the wall before hissing loudly, ducking underneath his Eastern companion's long black hair to hide itself from the wall before it.

Trowa stared at the little dragonette, even as Wufei arched a brow and scratched it upon its head. "What's wrong with it?" the acrobat asked.

"Hn. Let me ask it," Wufei replied, frowning. **What is it, little one?** he psionically whispered to the beast, his touch of :Contact: soft and soothing.

**Stay away from it!**

Wufei arched a brow, even as Trowa approached, intent on finding out if there was indeed a secret door located in the wall before them, utilizing the skills years of life on the street had taught him.

The thief gasped. "Wufei! Listen here!"

Staring, the onyx-eyed man took one step forward, eliciting another startled hiss and worried titter from the dragon. Breathing softly at it for silence, he leaned towards the wall.

It was then that he heard the moaning of voices begging softly for help, crying to be freed from their prison.

And it was then that he saw the hand shoot from the wall and grasp Trowa's shoulder, trying to absorb him into the stone before them.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo sighed, sitting in the fields directly outside of the cavernous mouth that yawned before him and lead to the chill darkness of the lich's lair.

Gently petting Heero's blood-matted hair, he grimaced. "Dammit, you guys, hurry up. He ain't gonna last much lo-"

Faint rumbling filled the air.

"nger...?"

Lifting his gaze, Duo stared as the grasses around his shuddered.

And, grabbing Heero's broken and bleeding body into his arms, he instinctively rolled away from his position.

Violet eyes stared in complete shock as the ground where he'd just been sitting erupted into the air, the huge mandibles of the enormous many-legged worm-like Ankheg clamping down on nothing but air. Turning, the giant insect focused its multifaceted eyes on the mage and his downed companion, chitinous legs wiggling and antenna waving in the sunlight even as it launched itself forward and burrowed under the earth once more.

"Fucking hell!" the mage breathed, running to the jittery horse's side and hauling it back to Heero. Lifting his lover, he bound him to the saddle and slapped the horse's rear, watching as it charged in a panic towards the west.

And, gripping his staff, Duo whimpered and closed his eyes as the rumblings of the Ankheg's approach shook the ground below his feet once again.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

"TROWA!"

Launching himself forward, Wufei instantly had his friend's hand in his own, pulling violently against the strength of the hand that held him. Wresting the acrobat free, he staggered back a few feet, wrapping his arms protectively around the other man, staring with wide eyes as the hand slowly retracted into the wall.

"The... the secret door!"

"What about it?" Wufei grunted, slowly releasing Trowa from his grasp, keeping himself between the spindly thief and the wall.

"It's in the center of that damned thing. I saw the lines that outline it when I got close."

"You've got to be fucking kidding!" Wufei breathed, his eyes wide. "Who would be insane enough to put a secret door in the center of a Living Wall?"

"Anyone who'd be insane enough to capture a Solar?"

"True."

Trowa stared at the moaning, wailing wall, the fear in his emerald eyes slowly being replaced by sheer determination. "That's the only passage I've seen so far. That means that, somewhere behind that wall, Quatre's being held captive."

"Indeed," Wufei grunted, shaking his head.

"I've got to get through it."

"Such is suicide, Barton."

Facing his friend, green eyes hard and steeled, he smiled faintly. "I've got to. No matter if it's suicide or not. I've got to try."

Arching a brow, Wufei sighed softly. "There's the lich you've got to worry about, as well."

"I'll think about that when the time comes. Now, help me. How do I get through that thing? I can't spend enough time at that wall to find the trigger to open that secret door without risking being absorbed by the Wall."

"I can open a hole for you, my friend. I know not how far back to put a :Dimension Door: though... I'll have to :Detonate: the door."

Trowa stared at Wufei, his eyes wide with shock. "But... that'll..."

"Draw the wrath of the Wall? It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"But...!"

Smirking, the psionisist gently petted the small pseudodragon upon his shoulder. "You go with the silly acrobat, little one. Protect him from the lich's magic - he'll need your assistance. Because he's going through that wall, no matter how much he's going to protest it. Because, whether or not he likes it, I'll protect my friends to the best of my abilities. And it matters not if I fall here, or if I survive this battle. I will do what is necessary to see this mission to its completion, if it's the very last thing I do."

The pseudodragon nodded slowly before spreading its wings and flapping them a few times. Lightly springing from Wufei's shoulder, it flew to Trowa and landed upon his slender collar, curling about his neck, tucking its stinger-tipped tail under its head to hold itself in place like an exotic necklace.

"But..."

"No more 'but's', Trowa. Your Angel's waiting on the other side of that wall. It's time you go to him."

Biting his lip, realizing that there was no way he could possibly change the warrior's mind, Trowa simply nodded.

"Get ready."

Trowa nodded, his grip on his torch tightening.

"RUN!"

As Trowa burst into a run, the wall before him exploded, its sharp fragments of stone blasting into the chamber that laid beyond.

He barreled through the center of the hole Wufei's :Detonation: had created for him, tears coming unbidden to his eyes as he listened to the enraged screaming of the wall followed by the clanging of sword upon sword, the crunching of club crushing bone, the slick wet splatter of weapon slicing flesh, the explosion of magical spell after magical spell.

'Wufei... he's taking all of it on his own.'

'Gods, I know I don't pray to you often. But, if just this once you'll be willing to hear a blasphemous unbeliever out, please, please aid him.'

'He's going to need it.'

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

"Well, that certainly was a shock," the lich softly whispered, its glistening, fiery glowing light that it used for eyes glaring into the orb upon the work table. "They've managed to get one of their numbers through my Living Wall."

"I told you," the blonde weakly laughed, "not to underestimate them."

"Then you'll simply have to be dead before he can arrive, won't you, little Angel?"

Stiffening his lips, his eyes instantly hard, Quatre glowered at the lich.

"I don't think so."

Both blinked. Both diverted their stares to the oak door that was directly to Quatre's left, seated in the same wall he was shackled to.

Hard green eyes glared at the undead mage.

And, instantly, Trowa cried out in pain as a huge wall of flame sprang into being directly below his feet, its magical fire still burning his flesh with its sheer intensity rather than with its touch.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo screamed as the beast's giant mandibles clamped about him, the ground erupting from below his feet. The hot, searing touch of its acid sank into his skin, dissolving his flesh even as he fought to escape the monster's grasp as it began to grind its mandibles together. Bringing his staff down with every ounce of strength he had in his thin body, he jabbed its pointed tip directly into one of the monster's multifaceted eyes and was rewarded with being dropped flat onto his back.

The wind knocked completely out of him by falling over seven feet onto hard ground had him stunned and dizzy as he stared at the huge insect that towered over him, its pincher-like mouth swung wide open, acidic juices dripping from them and plopping onto the ground around him, hissing as they dissolved the soil they struck.

Duo rolled with a screech as the beast lunged again, coming to his feet with his hands already prepared.

"/MAGIC MISSILE/."

He stared as the magical bolts of energy raced towards their target and burst against it, sparkling as they penetrated its tough armor shell. The beast shuddered and clacked its mandibles in irritation as the mage cheered.

He was quickly pummeled into the ground by the giant insect's sprawling body as it lunged again, intent now on not simply eating him but on thoroughly killing him.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei snarled, shielding his face as the fiery blast of a /Burning Hands/ spell erupted from the wall, quickly followed by a billowing /Stinking Cloud/ and a bout of /Magic Missiles/ topped with blast of blinding /Light/.

'Three wizards, one priest, seven fighters and a mace wielded by what felt by its strength to be a dwarf... Gods be damned...'

It was then that Wufei staggered, his hand holding his head as he cringed, his lips curled into a grimace.

'And a psionisist... fuck!'

Quickly, he established :contact: with the psionic mind that'd touched his own.

His mind was instantly plagued with the screams and cries of the souls trapped in the Living Wall, each shoving their decades-long insanity built by entrapment in their stony tomb into the very depths of his brain, forcing their feelings of hatred and despair into his psyche.

He snarled, forcing one last tendril of contact to flow before tapping his psionic strength pool once again.

The :Psionic Blast: ripped along the contact lines, crushing the :Mind Blank: barrier the psionic mind within the wall had erected about itself.

The wall instantly attacked again, arms and eyes making themselves visible, weapons emerging from the stone itself to slash angrily at the Eastern warrior who vainly attempted to protect himself from the onslaught.

The corridor burned with the fire of magic.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa charged into the room, rolling away from the flames that burned him, only to find himself standing before the lich he'd wished so fervently to face. Slowly backing away, he stared in horrified shock as the skeletal undead mage did nothing more than lift a finger.

"/Die/."

Trowa stared.

The tiny pseudodragon around his neck twitched once before falling to the ground, limp and lifeless.

"And now that your protection against my magic is gone, prepare to suffer, boy."

Trowa barely managed to tumble out of the way as /Lightning Bolts/ erupted from the mage's fingers. Glancing up, he screeched and continued to tumble as nimbly as only the most proficient of acrobats could as the bolts of electrical energy continued to chase him around the room, destroying everything in their path to reach him.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Quatre stared as Trowa's nimble feet kept him moving as spell after spell burst from the lich's mouth and hands.

'Think, Quatre, THINK! You've got to help him! You've GOT to!'

'I just can't let Trowa die like this! I can't!'

'But there's nothing I can do with that dratted little mole...'

'The mole.'

"Trowa!" Quatre cried as loudly as he could, "The mole! Kill it!"

Trowa ducked as a suddenly appearing beam of light sparkled, aimed right where his head once was and blew a hole into to the wall immediately behind him. "What?"

"The mole! Please! Kill it, so I can help you!"

"Oh no you don't," the lich hissed, drawing upon the powers of the Weave once again.

A multi-colored, nearly opaque sphere of hypnotizing, swirling colors exploded into being around the mage.

Trowa stared, his feet rooted to the ground where they were. "Prismatic... something or other...?"

"Sphere." Quatre whispered faintly.

"Can it be penetrated?"

"No."

"Then he can't attack us."

Quatre stiffened as he heard the beginning of chanting.

"Wrong."

And, for the two companions, time came to a dead standstill.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo tried to crawl away.

He screamed as the Ankheg's mandibles crushed his foot, trying to hold him in place as it lifted its legs from its burrow and placed them on solid ground, starting to clatter forward.

Kicking wildly, wresting his foot away from the spittle-secreting mouth of the gigantic fifteen foot long insect, he hurriedly crawled as quickly as he could to put distance between himself and the frightful monster.

Not to be outdone by its prey, the Ankheg reared back, waving its foremost pair of legs in the air as it clacked its viciously sharp mandibles loudly and lurched forward, spitting a vicious stream of acid.

Duo attempted to roll out of the way, but unfortunately failed to avoid the entirety of the cone of burning digestive enzymes that the insect had released.

Shivering as it burned him, he squinted his eyes, staring through waterfalls of tears as it clattered quickly forward, mandibles wide, prepared to claim his life and its dinner.

'Think, Duo, think! Spells affect it! Spells affect it strongly! You've got to defeat it!'

'But if I unleash a fireball at it, that'll incinerate me as well. I don't have enough magical energy to defeat it.'

'Maybe I can just drive it away. Please, please, I've got to drive it away... make it think that I'm too much trouble to go through with, even though it could crush me like a bug.'

'Heh, that's almost fucking ironic. Being squished by a bug.'

'Fuck fuck fuck! It's right on top of me!'

And, reacting completely out of instinct, Duo threw his hands forward, grasping the huge mandibles as they came in for him, hurriedly reading the runes that burned themselves across the front of his brain like images projected onto a video monitor and activating the magical Weave that laid latent about him.

"/Shocking Grasp/" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The insect shivered as the massive jolt of electricity roared through its sturdy frame, then wrenched its head away from Duo's grasp before turning swiftly about and plunging back into the ground.

Duo remained perfectly still for many a minute, waiting as patiently as he could.

The ground failed to rumble once more.

Lying on the ground, whimpering as the pain of the lacerations that covered his fair-skinned body became a throbbing reality upon the forefront of his mind, Duo waited for the world to turn black as it was inevitably leaning towards.

He barely registered the slimy wetness of the horse's tongue as it lapped at his face, having returned once the danger presented by the Ankheg was gone.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei staggered back a few feet, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he held his mystical katana before his body. The corridor burned with the remains of the paired fireballs that had roared from the wall, accompanied by the hateful effects of a hurled /Cause Light Wounds/ spell from the priest within the moving gray mass that was his enemy.

'I've barely enough strength to detonate part of that wall, if I can get past the defenses the psionisist within that thing has placed around it. One more blast, and my strength pool is empty save for my defenses. I can't relinquish them, or I open myself to attack - and I know not how powerful the mind I'm facing is.'

'Only two wizardry spells this time - meaning the other wizard within the wall is of no true power. However, the priest is still going strong, as are the other two wizards... they're going to present problems.'

'The fighters aren't lagging. Many, however, are missing. They aren't overly skilled.'

'I stand a chance. If I can destroy most of that wall with my :Detonation: I can defeat it.'

Reaching into the depths of his mind, he attempted to draw upon that power once more, a smirk falling upon his lips.

That smirk fell into a grimace as the psionisist that the wall held in its depths contacted his mind once more and forced the pain of his body through to his mind, amplifying and feeding it with the physical agony the wall itself had throughout its being.

He fell to his knees, clutching his head, the burning of the contact between them tingling along every nerve in his body, the burning of the corridor behind him caressing his skin, the burning of the fiery pain that raced through his mind pounding on his senses, forcing the direction of his focus away from blowing the wall to smithereens.

It focused instead on the burning.

Screaming erupted from the wall as it fell before the forces of :Molecular Agitation:. Swords slashed, spells flew, and the wall desperately tried to put itself out with conjured water and ice.

Wufei simply screamed as sword and club fell again and again, each strike splattering the stone around him with more of his lifeblood, the fire before him searing his flesh with its close proximity and incredible heat.

Soon, all fell silent in the corridor.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa groaned as he lay upon the ground, the lich's bony foot atop his head.

Lying in a swiftly growing pool of his own blood, Trowa felt what little strength he had remaining ebbing away.

Quatre cried out behind him, pain and worry in his voice.

After the mage had cast, time had stopped. When it had resumed, Trowa had toppled instantly to the ground, large segments of flesh missing from the touch of magical fire and electricity that had razed him while the lich had been operating beyond the flow of normal time. His legs refused to hold him upright any longer, and his arms refused to move. Quatre was in no better shape by the sound of things, and by the touch of dripping blood that fell upon his feet. He knew that he was lying right below the shackled boy, and that the hot, sticky mess that had fallen upon his heels was from the small blonde's body.

"Quatre..." he whispered softly, lifting one hand to grip the lich's ankle with what little force he could.

As his hand was kicked away, Quatre screamed.

"Free yourself..." Trowa whimpered, his eyes closing as he felt his life flowing from his body. ":Detonate: your shackles... and run... I'll get the rest..."

The lich's laughter met his ears, even as its voice crooned, "And what is it you think you'll be doing, boy, that will allow my little prize to escape?"

Trowa's voice chuckled with what little breath he had left. "This."

And the lich stared as the thief's dart, hurled by the small blowgun it'd failed to notice him maneuvering to his lips, sank into the small, unprotected Brain Mole and poisoned it. As the small creature shivered as the potent poison flowed through its body, the lich cursed the fact that it allowed its Prismatic Sphere to fall.

The lich stood perfectly still as it heard the metal shackles holding the Solar in place crackle and split.

"You hurt him."

He turned, watching as the enraged blonde's pale blue eyes flickered white, all color within those large orbs vanishing completely.

"You die."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa swallowed the warmth of the Healing potion as it flowed into his mouth, feeling its magic slowly begin to mend his mangled body back together. Closing his pained emerald eyes, he whimpered and laid his head into the blonde's lap. "Thank you... for rescuing me," he gasped softly as soon as he'd regained his breath from swallowing the thick liquor.

"Thank you for coming," Quatre softly whispered, even as he laid his hands on either side of the acrobat's temples, closing his gentle blue eyes and concentrating.

Trowa sighed as the comforting warmth of healing contact flowed over his mind and his body.

It was only when Quatre collapsed to the floor with a loud crash that his eyes snapped open and he stared, panic welling in his spirit.

The boy lay unmoving upon the cold cobblestone beside him.

_tbc..._


	24. Chapter XXIII

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N: This chapter contains the reason for the 'M' rating of 'Fall of Nobility.' Yep, it's a bit lemony. If that makes you squiggy, feel free to skim the obvious scene. For those of you who like that kind of thing, enjoy!

A/N 2; /magical spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

The crescent moon and glimmering stars that graced the cloudless sky were all that lit the path before the weary travelers as they slowly made their way to the town that laid now but a few hundred yards away. Heads bowed in weariness and defeat, they trudged like a motley crew of misfits prepared to turn themselves in to the local constable for desecrating the town temple.

Duo, head bowed and hair incredibly matted with tried blood, mud and tangles, staggered as he periodically stepped on the torn hem of his tattered robe. He wanted nothing more than to stop the journey, throw himself onto the ground and sob. However, he wouldn't allow himself to do such. He wasn't even able to find the voice to complain about how tired and pain-ridden he was; even if he'd had the ability to voice his sorrows, he knew he never would.

With Heero's barest grip on life slowly ebbing away despite their best efforts to heal and bind him, Duo would never dare to stop their progressive march. If he'd any energy remaining for something other than the strained gait he was moving at, he swore he'd drag the liter he was assisting with carrying and run to town.

Looking upon his lover's bloodied, pale face, Duo gritted his teeth. "Neh, Wufei," he gasped, "he gonna make it to Ormath?"

"Aa."

Wufei straightened his posture, refusing to show his own pain and tiredness as he repositioned his hands on his half of the stretcher. Eyes partially closed, he focused his narrowed gaze on the gates of the town ahead. 'About ten more minutes to town. Perhaps fifteen to find a temple.'

Closing his eyes fully, he slowly exhaled, letting his mind clear itself of all sensation, gripping instead onto the hovering auras that caressed his brain. The black that represented Duo was sad and tired, but unwilling to give up - stubborn as always. Green was pain laced with concern and blanketed by love. Pastel blue was an enigma, as always. However, that soft image crafted of delicate feathers and pastel color that swirled in their gentle, soothing cloud belayed no small amount of physical and mental exhaustion and pain overlaid with confusion that was seemingly directed at the emerald aura that engulfed and surrounded it protectively. That put a smile onto Wufei's lips; until, of course, he touched the fading Prussian Blue aura.

Sending a small flicker of his own crystalline white aura along the clairvoyant bond he tenuously held to the wounded man, he watched as that dark Blue aura resumed its attempts to remain stable and bright.

'That's right, my friend. You'd better not die. Because you'll not be the only one that perishes.'

'I'll not be the one to stop your loved one from following you. It's so very painful to live on after losing your heart...'

'I'd not curse him to that fate.'

Opening his eyes, Wufei picked up his pace, dragging Duo along. the violet-eyed mage simply gritted his teeth and struggled to keep up.

"Want me to scout ahead for a temple?" Trowa muttered from the back of the small company's lone remaining horse.

"Aa," Duo grunted, recovering as quickly as he could from stepping on his torn robe once again.

Nodding, Trowa eased the animal into an easy gallop.

He, for all the world, wanted to go faster.

But with Quatre shivering in his arms, covered only by Heero's forest green cloak and shaking in the cold night air while whimpering with pain at every jolt in the horse's gait, he didn't dare.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

The clerics who served Helm were already prepared when Wufei and Duo finally staggered through the town gates.

Duo stared, apprehension in his eyes, as the holy men swept the laden stretcher into their magnificent temple. "Neh... think he'll be alright?"

"I'm certain of it," Wufei replied with a tired nod.

"Think they'd mind if I hung around to wait for him?"

"Ask them. I'm fairly sure they wouldn't."

Duo nodded. "Tell Trowa and Quatre that I won't be seein' them for awhile."

"Sure thing."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa locked the door behind himself. Turning, he watched as the diminutive blond eased himself carefully onto the room's solitary bed, caring not that the cloak being the only thing he wore had slid from his body.

The emerald-eyed boy was too concerned by the sight before him to feel the inevitable attraction that had always struck him before.

"Do you think Heero will be alright?"

"Huh?" Ripping his gaze away from Quatre's lacerated torso and focusing onto his face, Trowa blinked. "Oh... I'm sure he will be."

"How're you planning to pay?"

"Don't know."

With a quiet sigh, Quatre closed his eyes. "They are good men... they may be willing to cut us a deal."

Nodding, Trowa crossed the room and seated himself beside the smaller boy. Delicately laying a slender hand upon a bruised shoulder, the acrobat frowned. "Are you alright?"

With a soft laugh, Quatre laid his own hand over Trowa's and gave it a light squeeze. "I'll be fine."

"But you can't heal yourself, can you?"

Shrugging, Quatre sighed. "No. I don't have enough strength left at the moment to even try. But I'll be fine." Then, turning his gaze to meet the green eyes of his companion, he frowned. "What about you?"

"I'm alright. The healing potion from the lich's lab really helped. As did you, Quatre." Bowing his head, he frowned. "You shouldn't have done that. That power. Wufei called it 'Lend Health'... you shouldn't have."

Looking away, the blonde sighed. "I... couldn't let you die."

"Even though it harms you in turn?"

Quatre shrugged again, whispering, "Doesn't much matter... doesn't hurt me that much."

"Quatre."

Turning to face the other boy, Quatre stiffened as he felt Trowa's hand tenderly grip his chin, holding his head in place. "Trowa...?"

Quatre's breathing all but stopped as Trowa pressed their lips together.

'He's daring to kiss me?'

Realization slowly made its way through the blonde's battered skull, calming his psyche and body. As his heart rate steadied, Quatre's body relaxed, using Trowa's presence to keep himself upright. Wrapping his thin arms around Trowa's waist, he held possessively onto the thief, keeping their kiss, sliding his tongue first over Trowa's lips then about in Trowa's mouth as those lips parted.

'He's daring to kiss me...?'

And as Trowa's tongue slipped over his own to use it as a sensuous path into the warmth of his mouth, Quatre mentally sighed.

'This is nice.'

Entwining their limbs, keeping their precious kiss steady and strong, both boys slowly sank onto the soft bed, easing one another's bodies onto the mattress in the most vain of efforts to ease each others' pains. Lying upon their sides, still kissing, Trowa lightly caressed the small blonde Solar's back, carefully avoiding every laceration and wound that littered his pale skin even as Quatre's slim digits roamed down his side.

Eyes still closed as Trowa pulled his lips away, Quatre sighed softly.

"I love you," Trowa softly whispered, laying tiny kisses on Quatre's shoulder.

Quatre's brow furrowed slightly, drawing a small laugh from Trowa.

"You're wondering why, aren't you?"

"... Yeah."

"Because I can't help it."

Cracking his eyes open, Quatre sighed and frowned. "But you know that I'm not staying here. As soon as I can return to the Outers, I'm gone."

Trowa nodded, his small, shy smile still upon his lips. "That's why I intend to make as much as I can of every moment I have with you."

"And you know..." Quatre started, his cheeks touched by a faint blush, the slightest hint of tears beginning to make themselves known in his eyes.

Lifting a finger to caress Quatre's cheek, Trowa nodded even as his thumb brushed along Quatre's lashes, drawing away the impending tears. "I know. But as long as you allow me to love you as you are, as a person in addition to loving you as an Angel, I'm happy."

This time no brush of a thumb could keep those tears at bay.

"Why are you crying, Angel?"

"Because... you're so kind to me. You..."

"Yes?"

Smiling faintly, Quatre sniffled. "You're making me lose my resolve to hate your species, Trowa."

"Maybe I can abolish it fully."

Hugging Trowa as tightly as he dared, closing his azure eyes, Quatre buried his face into the acrobat's muscular chest. "Hmph."

"Let me love you."

Quatre nodded.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Wufei was pleasantly surprised at the local tavern, having discovered that a room and a meal for the evening had already been paid for by his adventuring companions. 'Finally, they've begun to develop common courtesy!'

A good two hour span passed, having been laden with hot food, warm mead and cheering and jeering at the local minstrels. The conclusion of the brief interlude of peace found him dragging his worn body up the tavern stairs towards the door that inevitably lead to his room.

Pausing a moment, he stared at the other room's door. The presences behind the portal cover that was directly across the hall from his own were familiar, but something was out of the ordinary...

A smile graced his face.

"Finally."

And with a nod, he walked to his room and entered its soothing isolation. Locking the door behind him, he found himself grinning. "Finally," he muttered again as he crawled into his bed, giving thanks to the Gods that he might have uninterrupted dreams that night.

Dreams of a flowering field...

Dreams of the beautiful woman who still waited for him there...

As beautiful as the day they'd become one.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Quatre moaned quietly, arching his back and closing his eyes. It was a reaction he didn't recognize or comprehend, one he couldn't for the world control or deny, brought about by sensations he had never experienced over his eons of extraplanar existence.

He'd never had anyone ever do this with him before.

Of course, though, who other than Trowa would take the initiative to lick a Solar's legs?

Watching through half-closed eyes, Quatre obediently moved as Trowa directed him, spreading his legs further apart to allow the emerald eyed man access to the creamy white skin of his inner thighs. He shivered as Trowa stroked his wet, hot tongue over his flesh, leaving water trails along his legs.

Trowa sighed with delight as he worked the object of his desire, fondly running his hands up and down the panting boy's sides. Running his tongue over his scrotum, he grinned as Quatre's lithe body jerked, involuntarily shuddering at his touch.

Slithering between the blonde's legs, Trowa lovingly stroked the boy's manhood with his tongue, following each minute lap with a kiss. He lifted only his gaze as he felt Quatre's fingers sink into his thick hair, coming to rest his eyes on a tender smile and an encouraging nod.

At the silent request, Trowa laid his hands upon Quatre's warm, smooth legs. Lifting one hand, he gently fondled the hot, soft mass of flesh that resided between his thighs then moved his other to join it in play, directing its attentions to the testicles below. Gripping the base of that elegant rod, Trowa kissed the offered tip before swirling his tongue around its rim and sucking it into his mouth.

Moaning, the blonde tightened his grip upon Trowa's hair, intent on holding him in place. His vision becoming steadily more unfocused as Trowa lapped at his organ, Quatre opted to close his eyes.

Trowa obediently moved his head towards Quatre's groin as the hand upon his head directed him to, taking more of that steadily hardening cock into his mouth. Giving the blonde's balls a squeeze, he slid his lips up and down the organ's shaft even as he slavered over its tip. And, as he gently nipped at the loose foreskin, he moved his other hand a touch lower.

Quatre hissed, his eyes snapping open, as Trowa's finger slid into his anus. Tightening every muscle he could to ward off the intruding digit, he whimpered as the human boy flexed it inside of him, pressing into his soft flesh. "Trowa," he quietly mouthed before biting his lip as a second fingertip pressed itself against him, fighting against the tightness of the rosebud of muscles that prevented it from entering.

"Relax. It'll feel fine," Trowa whispered, smiling at Quatre, one hand still gripping his cock while the other continued assaulting the blonde's bottom.

Groaning, Quatre did as commanded, squinting as his tight muscles were stretched and loosened.

As Trowa's skilled fingers played inside of him, Quatre sighed, his eyes remaining softly closed as his brunette entertainer surrounded him with a cloud of sensational ecstasy.

He whimpered as the warmth of Trowa's mouth left his swollen member and his fingers slipped free of his body.

And he cried out loudly as the acrobat plunged his own erect manhood into his tight, hot passage, the wetness of saliva being the only lubricant used. Fingers digging into Trowa's back as he plunged in and out of the small blonde's heat, pounding mercilessly into his tiny body, Quatre cried in pained pleasure as Trowa's paced heightened with excitement. Back arching, he screamed to the heavens as Trowa's grip upon his frail body tightened, clutching him possessively to his chest, holding their bodies in such close proximity as to veritably make them one.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo sighed quietly, leaning upon the bed Heero had been placed on. His fingers curled into the warrior's hair, the young mage stroked his head lovingly, a sad and soft smile upon his lips.

"Well, Heero, we failed."

"I failed."

"But there's some good news. They've agreed to try and try the good ol' /Resurrection/ spell on you, 'cause we wiped out the lich that was plaguin' this town. And all at no cost, too. Cool, huh?"

Lifting his free hand to wipe his face free of the tears that coursed down his cheeks, Duo sniffled.

"But they say it might not work, 'cause it was because you were so tired of life in the first place that you gave up your fight to live. Because your body didn't help the magic they were shoving through your pores. They could tell that, ya know?"

Wiping away more tears, he choked back an impending sob.

"What's wrong, Heero? Wasn't I enough to live for? Didn't..."

"Didn't you love me?"

Laying his head upon the warrior's still, cold chest, Duo let the tears that hounded him flow freely.

"You better cooperate when they try to drag your soul back here, Heero."

"Otherwise, I'll be joining you in death."

And, with a choked sob, Duo buried his face into Heero's tunic and cried to his heart's content.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Quatre sighed softly, curling his lithe, naked form along Trowa's side, relishing in the warmth provided by the man's body. Resting his head upon the brunette's chest, he listened to his rhythmic heartbeat and the rumbles of his quiet snoring.

And as his eyes slowly closed, the veil of sleep overcoming him as well, Quatre smiled.

"Trowa..."

Lifting his head, he fondly placed a delicate kiss upon the sleeping man's lips.

"I..."

"I love you."

_tbc..._


	25. Chapter XXIV

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N: More kudos to those who can identify all the Gundam W character cameos in this one as well! I was loopy and having fun when I wrote this all those years ago. (sheepish little laugh)

A/N 2: Yep, you guessed it. /magical spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Quatre sighed softly as he slid out of the warmth of the bed. Casting a quick glance around the room, he scowled, noting the lack of clothing that was readily available.

"Just rode into town without thinking of stopping in the bazaar, neh? Fabulous."

Sighing softly, he walked over to the small cluster of clothing that laid beside the occupied cot and lifted the tattered mystical forest green cloak from its depths. Tossing the soft fabric article around his shoulders, clutching it and cuddling himself in its warmth, he nodded as he sat heavily down on the edge of the bed. Reaching out with a slender, steady hand, he lightly brushed the heavy waterfall of brown bangs away from Trowa's sleeping face, smiling lightly as the acrobat snorted and muttered in his sleep.

"Neh, wake up."

Trowa responded by grabbing his pillow and rolling over.

One eye twitching in annoyance, Quatre clenched his fist. A few tense moments past before he sighed again and simply crawled fully onto the bed, grabbing the other pillow as he crawled towards the long, lank naked figure that occupied it as well. Taking that pillow, he lifted it over his head, dire intent flashing in his aquamarine eyes.

Then he put it down beside his companion, shaking his head. "Hmph. Probably still tired from last night, aren't you? Very well then. I'll let you sleep."

Another small smile captured his lips as he leaned down and placed a tender kiss upon the sleeping man's cheek.

"Wake up soon, dearest acrobat. I'll be waiting for you downstairs."

Clad only in his cloak, the diminutive blond snuck as silently from the room as he could, his pale feet padding quietly along the dark wooden floor panels.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Quatre slid onto the bench beside Wufei without a word to acknowledge his presence, carefully holding his cloak closed to preserve his questionable dignity in the public common room of the small Inn in which they were staying. Waving at a passing barmaid, he smiled brightly before ordering his breakfast.

"I'll have whatever's available," he said brightly, sending the young lady on her way to check the kitchens.

"That's odd, VonWinner. Usually you order a medium rare steak, their finest mead, and two chicken eggs cooked in pork fat over easy."

Glancing sidelong at the Easterner, the blond shrugged. "I feel like doing something different today. Something simple."

"I see."

Leaning back on his bench, Quatre closed his large blue eyes. "I... haven't really gotten the opportunity yet to thank you."

Nodding, Wufei crossed his arms on the table, similarly waiting for his meal to arrive, relaxing in the warmth and the soft swirl of gentle auras that were present in the common area. "It was nothing that we wouldn't expect from you. Consider it to be nothing of concern."

"Oh really?" Arching a brow, the blond frowned slightly, opening one eye.

"Really. After all, you are dear to Trowa. As what may be considered to be significantly more than a friend to one of my dearest companions, I was obligated to assist you in this matter."

"But it wasn't for any reason other than the fact that Trowa's fond of me."

A smirk taking his lips, the warrior shook his head. "You're quite mistaken. It was for many reasons, though the fact that Trowa loves you was the foremost that drove us to accomplish what we have done."

"Really? What other reasons do you have for rescuing your tormenter from his fate?"

"Simple. To apologize."

Quatre stared at his companion, eyes large with surprise.

"For not attempting to understand your situation. For refusing to open my eyes and see you for what you are, but rather focusing on how you were behaving and judging you entirely off of your bitterness towards the world. For not thinking critically enough concerning your mannerisms and figuring out that you're no Noble's son earlier. For that, I apologize, Quatre."

"Hmph. Did I ever tell you my name? Or give you permission to use it?"

"Does it matter?"

The smaller man scratched his chin before smiling shyly. "I suppose it doesn't."

Wufei nodded. "If nothing else, I'd like to begin anew. Perhaps, may I dare suggest it, as friends."

Quatre stared at his companion for a few moments. "Why?"

"Because it's driving me crazy that our first opinions of one another were developed under the cloud of hatred and bitterness. Leaving that cloud behind as one leaves the area in which the storm is most powerful and vicious would be beneficial to us, especially as a team."

"Team?"

"You intend on staying with the acrobat, do you not?"

As two plates were set before them, Quatre simply stared at his food as Wufei lifted his knife and stabbed at the pork cutlets that laid upon his wooden platter. "Stay with him..."

"Because you've finally learned to love him."

"Where did you ever come up with that?"

Chewing, Wufei nodded before swallowing and washing his mouthful of meat down with a gulp of mead. "It's visible throughout the makeup of your aura, Quatre. A strain of coloration that doesn't belong in the cloud that is a Solar. The tinge of gray touching the feathers that craft your psionic signature."

Quatre stared.

"You're delving into the realm of mortal emotion, Angel. You've fallen in love."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Duo shook his fist at the door before yelling, "And if you fail, I'll have every one of your damned heads on a pole arm! A pole arm stuck up in the middle of town and set aflame to deliver your accursed souls to Cyric, where they belong!"

Clearing his throat, Wufei smirked. "Duo, I hardly think that's appropriate."

"Fuck appropriate," the mage huffed, turning on his heel and plopping down with a thud onto the steps of the temple he'd just been thrown out of. Hugging his knees, he sank his face into the basin his arms formed and sulked. "They better bring my Hee-chan back."

Trowa arched a brow, standing silently behind Quatre, hands resting easily at his sides, thumbs looped into the rope that held his breeches upon his slender hips. Green eyes blinking, he set his gaze onto the closed temple doors and nodded. "I see."

The blond sat himself next to Duo, easing down to rest right beside the braided mage. "It'll be alright, Duo. I'm certain that Heero will be more than willing to come back, knowing the anguish he's causing you."

"That is if that fucker's paying attention and not just tra-la-laing around in happy land with Tempos smashin' shit till kingdom come."

A lighthearted laugh met Duo's ears. "He wouldn't be with Tempos yet. The judges that sit before the gates of Mechanus and those portals that lead petitioners to their eternal dwellings are so backlogged in souls that it takes mortal months for anyone to pass on to their resting grounds."

"You're kidding."

"Nuh uh. I've seen it."

Duo smirked, shaking his head. "Sure you have."

"You all have admitted it yourself. About what I am, I mean."

Sticking his tongue out at his blonde companion, the mage chuckled. "I'll believe it best when I see it. Till then, it's simple speculation."

Both Quatre and Wufei huffed before turning their gaze as one to the temple doors.

"Neh, neh! What is it? Do you sense something?" Duo chirped immediately.

Wufei nodded.

"They've begun."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Heero sighed quietly, moving forward yet another step in line. "How long is this going to take, you suppose?"

The man standing before him shrugged. "Some say weeks, some say months. Some say that to us it doesn't matter, as time has no meaning after death. Such is the way of the afterlife it would seem; no such thing as a straight answer exists any longer."

Nodding, the warrior frowned. "So, what happened to you?"

"I was murdered quite some time ago by a young warrior, much like yourself. I'd been part of a team of mercenaries that had assisted the Red Robed wizards of Thay in destroying a few small villages in the territories that surrounded their country."

"An evil act," Heero muttered, his eyes narrowing.

"I suppose so, but the cause that they'd presented to me seemed just. I was simply hoping to manipulate their forces and turn them to fight for my own causes."

"Really."

"Freedom for the populous under a strong, just ruler who would see to their needs rather than enslavement to a tyrant or life without the steadying force of a stable governmental system. Such is the way it should be. I thought that the Red Wizards had a decent plan, but simply needed some guidance in winning the approval of the people."

"So you sided yourself with demons?"

Chuckling, the man shook his head. "No, no. The demons were quite the surprise. I had expected them to utilize mercenaries such as myself, but not the darker forces from the Lower Planes. But they did what they did, they hurt who they hurt, and we all paid the price with our blood."

"How long have you been here?" Heero asked quietly, arching one brow.

"A couple years, I suppose."

"Why so very long?"

Shrugging, the older man sighed. "They can't decide where to place me. In life, I followed the teachings of Tymora, our lady of luck. However, both Tempos and Cyric are fighting over me - Tempos for the simple fact that I followed his teachings in the last years of my life, and Cyric for the evil path I followed with the mercenaries I fell in with." A soft laugh flowed from his throat, as he shook his head. "You shouldn't experience this problem, I do hope."

"No. I followed Tempos to the death. I died in combat with a Death Knight in a psionisist's dreamscape."

"A fascinating way to die."

"Indeed."

As the two conversed, a heavy hand landed upon Heero's shoulder. Turning, the young man stared, his blue eyes huge upon his tanned face.

"You are being called."

"You're..."

Folding his giant white wings back, the tall humanoid standing behind Heero nodded once before opening dark azure eyes that shone brightly from his pale face through the soft falls of platinum blonde hair that cascaded about his head. Turning, his soft white toga rustling in the ethereal breeze that flowed through the Plane, his straight-cut waist-long hair swaying slightly between his massive wings, he lifted a finger, pointing towards the huge whorl of dark black shadow that stained the otherwise pristine and bright environment. "You are being called to return, Heero Yuy."

Frowning, Heero shook his head, bowing apologetically. "Forgive me for being rude, especially before a Solar, but I've no longing to return."

Straightening his stance, the winged angel shook his head. "You do not have to go if you do not wish. However, do remember those who you will be affecting by disobeying the call of magic. Your mortal friends, your mortal lover..."

Blinking a couple times, hearing the cursing that seemed to be ringing not only across planes but was also muffled by passage through what was very likely a thick temple door, the warrior stared. "Duo..."

"We can make your afterlife miserable if you do not complete your task, warrior. You are not only abandoning that person who's very life depends on your love and acceptance, but also that person who has yet to be freed to return home."

Heero turned his attention to the Solar. "You mean Quatre."

"I mean our brother who is still in the bonds cast upon him by the archmagus who summoned him. If we had the ability to cross into the Prime Material at will, his captivity would be a moot point and his freedom would have already been achieved."

"You can not cross?"

"If he perishes, his spirit will rend the rift that holds us bound to the Astral, the Ethereal, the Inner and the Outer Planes. We will enter your Prime Material world and seek revenge. However, without that rift being breeched by the magical energies that will be released with his spirit, that barrier holds us at bay. Such is why you mortals are tasked with this."

Frowning, the warrior sighed. "I didn't realize we were tasked with sending him home."

"You have been since the moment you met him. Such is the desire of fate."

"And if I do not return? I grew to tire of life. I will miss Duo, surely, but... but he will join me."

Slowly spreading his giant wings, the corporeal angel turned, his brow furrowed with the beginnings of anger. "We can not cross into the Prime Material, but we can cross any extraplanar field you may believe yourself capable of escaping to. We will make your afterlife an eternity of pain. Especially considering the selfishness you are willing to commit your soul to."

Leaning over, the older man with whom Heero had spoken whispered, "I'd go back. If not for the task to which you've been appointed, at least return for the one you love. Such is heartless, to force your loved one to continue alone in the realms of the living when you've the opportunity to return."

Heero sighed softly, staring at the field of black.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

"It's been four hours," Duo groaned miserably, poking at the dirt at the base of the steps upon which he sat with the end of his staff, drawing aimless little pictures in the dust.

"Maybe there's problems," Trowa quietly suggested, calmly balancing three daggers upon his fingertips.

"Nope. Just waiting for him to make a decision, I'll bet." Quatre smiled as he lay beside Trowa, sprawled over the steps, staring as the acrobat added yet another sharp, pointed weapon to his already impressive display.

"He'll return, Duo. Have no worries. If I know that moron as well as I do, he'll not leave you behind," Wufei said, his voice soft and comforting.

"But he's a selfish prick at times," Duo whimpered.

"Most times, but not all. This probably won't be one of those instances," Trowa said with a careful shrug, placing his final dagger upon his thumb and offering a small, shy smile of satisfaction.

"If he does try and refuse, he's going to have his ass blasted to smithereens all over the Outers," Quatre commented after applauding Trowa's stunt merrily.

"Meaning that your brethren are going to be after him to answer the call of the /Ressurection/ spell?" Wufei asked.

"Why would Solars be after him?" Duo questioned, arching a brow.

"Why indeed," Trowa snorted, clenching his fist and quickly catching every falling dagger with his left hand before any blade could dare come close to striking the ground beside him.

"Because you all have been tasked," Quatre clarified.

"Tasked?" Wufei said, arching a brow.

Duo remained silent for once, simply shaking his head as he stared at the temple doors.

"Tasked how?" Trowa asked, resuming the circular conversation.

"To free me. My brethren are very likely pissed that one of their numbers is being held upon the Prime against his will," Quatre said with a merry little grin and a nod. "He'll return simply because he's going to be forced to, if he doesn't do so out of his mortal love for Mr. 'I am Shinigami, hear me roar' over there."

"Oh really," Wufei grunted.

"Really!" Quatre said.

"I was supposed to speak next," Trowa said with a chuckle.

Sticking his tongue out at his thieving lover, the blonde sniggered. "I don't care."

Their discussion was ended with the creaking of the temple doors sounding behind them. Duo was already on his feet, staring expectantly with wide, frightened blue-violet eyes into the shadows that extended into the ancient building, even as his three companions stood beside him, brunette assisting the blonde to his feet and the raven-haired warrior making his own stance easily.

As the brown-haired warrior slowly and stiffly made his way from the temple, he was swiftly introduced to the hard resistance of the ground as he was buried underneath a black-robed, chestnut-haired, sobbing mage.

Lips parting in a vague smile, Heero gently entwined his fingers in the flowing mass that was his lover's hair, holding his head firmly to his chest. "I missed you to, dearest."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

The small company swiftly galloped down the road as evening descended, making quick time through the forests east of the Shining Plains.

The last of their money having gone for one more horse and Duo's magic having brought yet another riding steed into reality for a short time, they were attempting to make the best use of their time to continue their eastward journey towards Cromyr and the promises of riches that still laid in that vast kingdom.

"Tell me again why we didn't get me any clothing," Quatre snorted softly, clutching Heero's cloak still around his lithe, naked body as he sat cradled in Trowa's arms upon the horse's bare back, barely keeping his place with the rocking of the steed's gait by holding himself flush to the acrobat's body.

"Because we agreed that it was either another horse or clothing, and a horse was more important. You agreed to that as well."

Quatre grumbled quietly under his breath.

Immediately picking up the cue to clarify their earlier discussion, Trowa smirked. "Because Heero's still weak from the effects of dying, and you're still under the weather from being tortured by that lich."

"We could've bought clothing, conjured one steed, and left Wufei on his own. He can fend for himself."

"You're the one who said that his psionic strength was comparable to that of a newborn maggot."

"Oh yeah. I did say that, didn't I?"

Wufei simply snorted from his position on the company's newest horse and shook his head. "You made your own cot, Quatre. Sleep in it."

"Bah!" Snuggling against Trowa's chest, he sighed softly. "At least we could slow it down..."

"Are you uncomfortable?" Trowa asked, concern suddenly flooding his voice.

"A bit."

Pulling the reins of his horse, Trowa quickly shouted for his companions to slow.

Turning back, Duo whimpered, "But my spell won't last that long!"

Nodding, the acrobat sighed. "But Quatre is worn. And Heero doesn't look much better. If your spell times out, then we'll stop for half an hour to allow you to study your magical incantations and cast it again."

"We'll practically be defenseless," the mage sighed.

Snorting, Wufei shook his head. "Thank you ever so much for your vote of confidence in my abilities, Maxwell. I'll remember that next time we're in a Dead Magic Zone surrounded by Brain Moles and all that functions is my sword, alright?"

Ducking his head sheepishly, Duo giggled. "Sorry. Forgot about the fact that you can use that thing. Just getting pretty customary for you to blow shit up with your mind these days and for Hee-chan here to hack away like a gunther-esk warrior."

Duo wilted as two sets of eyes, one Prussian blue and the other Onyx, focused scathing glares upon him.

Their argument in full swing, they never saw the attack coming until it was too late.

As the air suddenly sang with arrows hurled from the bows of bandits, Trowa found himself thrown to the ground, having been viciously tossed from the back of his horse. Wufei's horse reared and whinnied in fear, even as its companion steed foamed and staggered, the poisons soaking the heads of the arrows that laced its hide seeping quickly through its body. Duo and Heero swiftly dropped from their conjured animal, leaving the magical horse to stand unattended as they dashed into the woods.

The woods suddenly burst into seering hot fire thanks to Duo's swiftly hurled Fireball spell and the screams of the dying filled the air, emerging both from flame and from the vicinity of the quickly wielded dagger of the warrior who hunted more out of rage than out of necessity.

Wufei quickly glanced about the area, searching and scanning with what little mental energy he had remaining. As Duo and Heero made surprisingly short work of their foes, he dismounted, leaving the skittish animal to dance in its place on the road as he rushed to Trowa's side to check upon his companion.

Finding him to be stunned from the fall but otherwise alright, he turned his head to face the fallen steed.

Immediately, Wufei was at the side of the small blonde rider of that downed animal, roughly pulling arrow after arrow from his thin, uncovered body, his blood-covered fingers shaking as they desperately sought the presence of a pulse.

_tbc..._


	26. Chapter XXV

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; :psionic power:

_-BEGIN FIC-_

Trowa crawled hastily to Wufei's side even as the warrior flung yet another arrow away, having pulled it roughly from the still, pale chest it had been immersed in. Tanned fingers gripping the bloodied boy's throat, the Easterner snarled quietly, "Breathe, damn it. Breathe!"

The acrobat stared, emerald eyes huge with complete and utter shock as he stared at the small boy.

'He took the arrows that were coming for me.'

'He saved my life. He sacrificed himself for me.'

"BREATHE!"

'Please, please Quatre. Don't leave me. Don't leave me now!'

Reaching with shaking hands, Trowa gently touched the boy's chest. Instantly he recoiled from the small body. "No... he's growing cold...!"

Wufei simply ignored him, shouting, "Duo! Get over here now! Bring one of those healing potions I know you swiped from the temple!"

"Coming!" the voice of the mage rang from the woods.

"NOW!"

Staggering free from the bramble that grew along the path's sides followed by Heero, lips set in a scowl and the beginnings of a rant upon his lips, Duo glowered at the warrior. Eyes falling upon the small pale body lying beside him instantly destroyed all yells upon his tongue as he abandoned his anger for concern and ran to his friends' sides. Staring at the blonde, he fumbled at his belt, reaching into one of the multitudes of pouches that hung from its coiled length. "Oh Gods, no..." he whimpered, digging as frantically and quickly as he could.

"Duo, hurry," Trowa whispered from beside him, his fingers shaking even as they pressed into Quatre's wrist. "I... I can't find his pulse anymore."

"We're losing him," Wufei growled, closing his eyes.

"Can't you do anything?"

"No, I can't. I can't utilize anything quickly enough to save him."

"Dammit!" Duo cursed even as he drew a small glowing vial from his pouch and quickly yanked the cork from its mouth. Pouring it quickly between the still, blue lips of his downed companion, he stared apprehensively.

"Why isn't it working!" Trowa instantly cried out, watching as the remains of color that floated upon Quatre's cheeks slowly faded.

"The fucking bands!" Duo cried, pointing to them even as they flickered, absorbing the magic of the Healing Potion right from Quatre's body and locked it into themselves. "They're absorbing the Healing Potion right out of his blood! We... we can't heal him..." Sitting back, the mage sighed, quietly muttering, "Maybe it's... it's for the best..."

"No..." Trowa softly breathed, his emerald eyes staring blankly at Quatre's still form.

"Step back."

Duo and Trowa backed away without question, doing so quickly at the command barked from Wufei's lips.

Wufei's katana whistled shrilly through the air as it raced in a blinding arc towards its destination, its mystically sharp edge glistening fiercely. The ring of metal striking metal sounded through the still atmosphere loudly, followed immediately by its twin.

Duo blinked a few times before realization struck him that yes, those viciously attached armbands were neatly cut, each small bolt severed at the skin and the portion of the armband that held each welded bolt head laying on the ground. Gripping Quatre's arms even as Heero pulled yet another of Duo's pilfered Healing Potions from his pouches and yanked the cork from its mouth with his teeth, he pulled at the metal bands. Yanking at the stubborn devices with all of his strength, he ripped them off Quatre's arms, leaving bloody trails and gristle as he tore the posts that had held them in place out of the muscle and bone that had so long ago healed onto them. 'Sorry, but it's for your own good,' the mage thought as he ripped each mithrel band away and threw them wildly into the woods.

Heero was already pouring the light blue, glowing liquid of the Healing Potion over Quatre's still lips and into his mouth as Duo snatched the bands away.

He gasped as the boy's light blue eyes snapped open and his body twitched. Opening his mouth, Quatre screamed.

Duo's hands immediately grabbed the blonde's bruised shoulders and he looked desperately to Heero and Trowa. "Help me hold him down! He's going to hurt himself!"

"NO!" Wufei shouted, grabbing Duo by his braid and yanking him roughly away, "Don't hold him down. Help him up!"

"Are you fucking insane!" Duo snarled.

Ignoring the mage, Wufei immediately fell to his knees and grabbed the screaming blonde and forced him to sit upright. Quatre's shaking hands gripped his profusely bleeding arms as Wufei's grip kept him straight. Shaking, Quatre let his head bow, gritting his teeth.

He screamed again as the flesh of his back ripped and burst in a colorful spray of blood and tissue.

Everyone stared at the huge, blood-covered white wings that had erupted from the blonde's body and arched grandly behind him, their vitae-coated radiant span shining in morbid glory.

"Quatre..."

The aquamarine eyes rolled back as the Solar slumped into Wufei's arms, wings drooping to lay in the dirt that made up the road.

Wufei looked up at Trowa as the acrobat knelt by his side, then carefully shifted the winged boy in his arms to hand him over. As Trowa gathered Quatre into his arms, he ran a shaking hand over the blonde's sweat-dampened hair. "So... it's true. He's really..."

"A Solar," Wufei murmured with a nod.

With a nod, Trowa nuzzled the small boy's neck. "He really is an Angel."

Duo frowned before turning to Heero. "Only thing I'm worried about now is what he's going to do, you know?"

Arching a brow, the warrior frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I almost didn't want those damned bands removed."

"That would have assured his death, Duo."

"I know. That's the only reason why I pulled 'em. Otherwise..."

"Why?"

"Don't you realize what we've done?" Duo asked, arching a slender brow over a worried violet eye. "We've just released a being more powerful than anything else in these Realms. A creature no one could ever survive against. And that creature's been waiting for years for vengeance - he's been waiting so long that he's started losing his mind. We've got an angry, bitter, nearly insane Angel with the very power of the Gods right over there, Heero."

"And with those restraints gone..."

"Right. Ain't nothin' gonna stop him from taking revenge. And that revenge might very well be the destruction of everything that lives."

Duo bowed his head, even as Heero laid a hand upon his shoulder.

"Insanity's driven him to the brink of evil, Heero... and I don't think that there's really anything holding him back from that crumbling edge."

"Hold some hope, Duo. There may yet be salvation."

"How so?"

Smiling gently, the warrior inclined his head towards the fallen Solar, watching as Trowa carefully lifted Quatre's body into his arms, listening as he told Wufei to take the horse as there was no way he could mount with 'his Angel' in his arms. "Because, Duo. With Trowa's love so strong and enveloping, he won't be allowed to fall over that edge. Trowa will be able to hold him back."

"Hmph. We can only pray that you're right, Heero."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Quatre groaned softly in his slumber, slowly attempting to roll over. He was laying upon his stomach, resting on what felt to be nothing more than a thin bedroll spread to protect him from the dirt and rocks of the ground, near the crackling of a warm campfire over which crackled fresh meat, judging from the pain that racked his body and the odors that assaulted his nostrils. Stirring, eyes squinting as he felt the tender brush of feathers along his back and side, he tried to lie upon his right side.

Something was in the way. It hurt to lie in that position. Without thinking, his mind unconsciously told his wings to shift, to lay straight behind him instead of curled at his sides.

Blinking, the blonde instantly became aware of his situation.

'What the...'

Sure enough, he was resting upon a cot near the center of a small, quickly established camp. A campfire roared but ten feet away, the remains of a quartet of skinned and cleaned rabbits roasting in the heat of its flames. And surrounding him was a sight he'd not seen for decades.

Delicate, huge white feathers, their edges marred with gray streaking.

Gently lifting one of those feathers into his hands, he stared at it for many a long minute before turning his eyes to glance over his shoulder.

Quatre smiled tiredly.

"There you are. I've been looking for you for over twenty years. You know that, don't you?"

Laying his head back down, he drove his mental state from complete rest to restoration of his physical body, dedicating the power that laid within his mind to managing the swift manipulation of the structures of his very cells to speed his healing.

'I can return to the Outers now. I'm free. I no longer have those restraints on me. I can go home!'

'But not until after that comes to pass.'

Giggling softly, a dark and ominous tone hovering upon his lips, the boy rolled back onto his stomach, folding his marvelous, huge wings along his back once more to utilize their soft, thick masses to protect him from the chill of the evening air.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa lightly laid his hand upon the sleeping Solar's head, petting his blonde hair gently in an attempt to wake him even as his companions broke down the rest of their camp area and started dividing the load amongst themselves, their one remaining live horse and the new steed Duo had conjured by use of his magic that morning.

It took many moments until Trowa succeeded, bringing the boy to consciousness. Smiling tenderly, the acrobat assisted him into a seated position, watching the large wings with fascination as they stretched behind Quatre's slender body, arching high and dipping to drag their longest flight feathers on the ground. "Good morning, Quatre," Trowa shyly muttered, bowing his head.

"Morning..." Quatre grumbled with a tired yawn.

"Ready to move out again?"

"Of course."

Trowa watched, both brows arched, as the naked winged boy hastily got to his feet.

"After all," Quatre began with a sly smirk upon his lips, "it's time to get the ball rolling, neh? It's been waiting far too long..."

"Quatre? What are you talking about?" Trowa asked as he gained his own footing, standing before the smaller blonde and resting a hand upon his shoulder.

"I've been waiting too long. I can't abandon that quest now... especially not now that I've the means to complete it."

"Quest?"

"To return home. To set things right in this mortal world before diving back into the Astral, freeing myself from the bonds of this dull, hateful place."

Watching the maddening swirl of the blue eyes, Trowa gulped. "But..."

"It's time for me to return home. It's time for me to make my sacrifice to the Gods that will allow me access to the Outers once more."

"Quatre... you won't consider staying?"

"Staying!" Laughing, the boy looked at Trowa, his eyes wild with madness. "Trowa, dearest, I wouldn't stay for anything. Not for Wufei, not for Heero, not for Duo. Not for anything once vengeance has made itself known, once his blood has run the length of my scimitar and my mind has tasted his misery!"

"For me...?" Trowa softly whispered, the hand upon Quatre's shoulder tightening its grip upon the pale, white flesh.

Blinking a few times, Quatre frowned, his wings slowly unfolding from his back and spreading to his sides. "I... I wish to. I wish to stay with you, but..."

"But?" Trowa's voice quietly whimpered into Quatre's ear.

"I can't. I can't deny myself any longer. I love you, but it isn't... it isn't... I'm placing you above the Gods themselves in my heart, and I can't help it. I can't let it happen anymore. I can't deny the scream for vengeance that's pounding in my ears. I can't refuse the call to go home. I can't run from the call of Death, screaming for Archmagus Vincent VonWinner's blood. I can't remain here. I can't love you. I can't. I can't!"

Trowa watched as the boy turned and ran from him, his mighty wings flapping once as he leapt into the air, carrying him with one huge downward swoop onto the gentle morning breeze and out of sight.

"Quatre!" he yelled into the heavens, watching the last remnants of the sun's soft glimmer vanish from the retreating white wings.

Duo and Heero were instantly at his sides, both staring.

"What the hell's he running from now?" Duo groaned, slapping his forehead, before muttering, "Neh, you didn't piss him off again, did'ja, Tro?"

"No. He's... he's not running away this time."

"Then where's he going?" Heero snorted, staring into the empty sky.

"He's running towards the darkness of Death. He's..."

"He's going for vengeance?" Duo whispered.

"Yes," Trowa answered, simply nodding his head, his bangs flopping lifelessly over his face.

"He's headed to Waterdeep."

Glancing over at Heero, Duo frowned. "Think we can head him off? If he's going for vengeance..."

"I know, Duo. Thousands are in danger. He's irrational, he's a Solar, he's angry... they're doomed. But as per heading them off, can you teleport us as Trowa said you did in the dreamscape?"

"No," Duo sighed quietly, crossing his arms. "It only worked in the dreamscape because it was a dream; I could do everything I'd ever wished there. Doesn't quite work that way in the real world, you know."

Wufei's voice rang behind them, "If it's only to Waterdeep, perhaps I can be of assistance."

Everyone turned sharply on their heels to stare at him.

Frowning, the Easterner crossed his well-muscled arms over his chest. "I don't want to land us into town - I don't want anyone inadvertently getting injured by the energies used to create it - but I can land us within a good half-mile of the East Gate, if you wish."

"How the fuck can you do that?"

"Simple. :Dimension Door:."

Heero and Trowa smirked, even as Duo's jaw dropped wide open.

"Let us finish packing quickly. We've got a Solar to stop."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Vincent VonWinner lifted his wine glass to his lips, drawing a deep draught from it.

'My house guard has failed. Elminster will not join my cause again, meaning that Kelban Blackstaff will not, either. Without Blackstaff, I stand no chance of convincing the rest of the Hidden Lords of the urgency of this matter.'

'The elves have failed. The dragons have failed. The bandits have failed.'

'Will I have to resort to utilizing the powers of the dark elves...?'

"You'll not have to worry about what monstrosities you're going to utilize next, Magus. You'll not have to worry about anything again. Your life will be over by the end of this night."

The elderly mage stiffened as the voice hissed softly at his back. "Quatre, my dear boy..."

"Dear boy, my ass."

Shivering as the pale hand roughly clamped his shoulder, Vincent closed his eyes.

When he opened them once again, he stared in disbelief. "We're atop Castle Waterdeep. But... you couldn't have used :Dimension Door: with this amount of precision! Such requires..."

"Magic."

Turning, the Magus stared, his eyes huge within their sockets, his body suddenly trembling with fear.

Blue eyes nearly glowing white with unbound rage, scimitar upon a loose leather belt that encircled the otherwise undecorated waist, the nude Angel spread his wings, their gray-fringed white feathers sparkling in the dim light of the setting sun.

"You're... you're free..."

"Keen observation."

"And you're here to kill me...?"

The Angel's lips twisted into a diabolical sneer.

"I'm here to do much more than that."

_tbc..._


	27. Chapter XXVI

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N: Many thanks to my buddy Andy for lending me his favorite 2nd edition character for a cameo, despite how much I've tortured that character in the past (yes, I _am_ a diabolical DM. I like to challenge good role players by screwing their characters in amusing ways. What of it?). Thanks for Shardo, buddy o' mine!

A/N 2: As if it isn't predictable enough, another reminder. /magical spell/ And some more notes. **Telepathic speech, once again.**

_-BEGIN FIC-_

"I'll not destroy you, mage. Not until I've had the satisfaction of seeing pain and grief and misery and despair written across your wretched heart and face. Not until I know that, for at least one moment, you're feeling the same helpless anguish I've suffered for the two decades you've held me prisoner. I'm not going to kill you until it's qualified to be a fucking mercy killing!"

Vincent VonWinner swallowed nervously, staring at the enraged Solar.

"And if I have to murder every person you've ever held dear to your heart, if I have to demolish every place you are fond of, SO BE IT!"

As one, they looked over the sprawling city that lay beyond the mighty castle's walls. One stared with narrowed slits of azure eyes that veritably glowed with seething hate. The other's tearing eyes looked on in terror.

"Maybe I'll start right here."

"You can't!" Vincent desperately cried, roughly grabbing the winged being's hand. "There are innocents down there! Thousands of-"

"Six hundred and two thousand, five hundred nineteen souls not counting your own."

The elderly Lord's eyes widened. "You wouldn't..."

"You care about their fates."

"But your kind are supposed to be followers of the path of righteousness!"

Yanking his wrist free of Lord VonWinner's grip, the Solar snarled, "This IS righteousness! Righteousness and good are what I determine them to be!"

"You... you're mad..."

"And I've got you to thank for it. Congratulations, Lord Vincent VonWinner; you're not only the first to ever capture one of my kind, you're the first to drive a Celestial insane. How does it feel? How proud are you of this accomplishment?"

Vincent bowed his head remorsefully.

"And now, hundreds of thousands must die for your error."

"Why...?" he softly whispered.

"Because it will hurt you. And I want to hurt you. I want to keep hurting you until you beg me for death."

Turning away from the shivering mage, the Solar grinned, his smile screaming of malice. "Let this city reflect your soul, Noble Lord. Let it fall and burn."

"Say farewell to your beloved City of Splendors!"

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Trowa stared, his emerald eyes huge upon his paled face. All bodily pains forgotten, the acrobat leaps from the back of his magically conjured steed and ran towards the huge structure that made up the East Gate of Waterdeep. His feet raced over the ground, pounding loudly through the lush spring grass. And coming to crest the small hill that gave him the slightest glimpse of Castle Waterdeep's tallest spire he came to a stop, watching in horrified fascination and complete awe.

Moments later Duo and Heero were at his side, both still mounted. Wufei appeared before them but moments later, seeming to simply ooze forth from the shadows of the approaching night.

All four were trapped by the utter beauty and sheer terror that emitted from the sight they watched.

"We're too late," Heero softly whispered.

Nothing could have diverted Trowa's eyes as he watched the lithe, nude boy lift his left hand, right pointing over the City accusingly, giant white wings spread to either side of his lean body. Lifting those huge feathered wings to arc grandly above his blonde head he raised his gaze to the heavens.

Everyone yelped, rubbing their eyes as the flash of lightening erupted from the clear blue skies to meet Quatre's upraised hand then channeled through him to burst from the fingertips of his right hand, arching and sparking gracefully through the air before swinging earth-bound and slamming with devastating force into the sprawling buildings below his perch.

The smell of burning wood and flesh accompanied the screams of the terrified and dying in the clouds of fiery smoke and dust.

"My God," Duo whispered. He willingly leaned back into Heero's suddenly present protective embrace, his body shaking.

Heero remained silent, the only hint of his worry being the tightness of the grip he kept upon the mage before him, forcing their bodies together. His dark blue eyes narrowed, Heero softly said, "He's going to destroy it all. The entire city."

"Why?" Duo asked, still watching in fascinated horror. Feeling Heero shrug, he frowned.

"Revenge."

"Revenge?" Glancing down at the onyx-eyed psionisist, the mage arched a brow.

Trowa crossed his arms. "Yes. Revenge."

"But... destroying the entire city? And everyone in it?"

Snorting, Wufei glanced up at Duo. "What would you do if Heero were slaughtered by a demon? A demon who retreated into its home plane, its home city, to escape your wrath?"

"Kill it."

"And if you couldn't pinpoint it in that city of thousands?"

"Talkin' demons?"

"Yes."

"Kill 'em, too."

Wufei nodded. "Then you can not judge him."

"But they're humans! Elves! Dwarves! Innocent people being slaughtered because Quatre's throwing a snit fit!"

"We're his demons, Duo."

"W... what?"

Everyone stared at the Easterner as he nodded. "We are his demons. We, humankind, are what drew him from the heavens with magic he could not fight. Humans are what have kept him prisoner upon his dreary, corporeal world of lackluster life and faithlessness, locking the power which to him is as necessary to normal life as breathing is to ours, making that very city before us a jail to hold him. No one would help him. No one would free him. No one would give him their ear to listen to his crying. Humans were wicked enough to keep him as a test subject and trinket rather than simply letting him return home as he wished or giving him the gracious mercy and honor of death. To him, they are as terrible as the most sinister of demons. We are his demons."

"And that's why he wants to slaughter us all."

Trowa bowed his head. "But in doing so, he's reducing himself to our level, committing our sin."

"And slaying thousands of innocents," Heero murmured, still holding Duo tightly. "He must be stopped."

"I don't know if he can be. He appears to be enjoying himself," Duo whispered.

"He can't be," Trowa mouthed.

"Look at him, Barton. He is, as Maxwell said, enjoying himself."

Trowa cringed as he heard the voice of the Angelic being standing atop the East Tower of Castle Waterdeep laugh insanely, his light yet manic tone barely audible over the roar of the raging fires and screams of the panicked people below him that he'd succeeded in creating. As Trowa watched, the Solar flapped his giant wings but once and leapt from the Tower's battlements, catching the hot wind and soaring above. Folding his wings, he dove towards the streets, scimitar in hand, like a bird of prey screaming towards its prey.

"Duo. Can't you do anything?" Trowa softly whispered.

"Against a Solar? Fuck no. They're so beyond me on the power scale that it ain't even funny."

"Heero?"

"I no longer even have a sword, my friend. What could I do? Poke him to death with my dagger? I doubt that it would touch him, as it doesn't carry any hint of magic upon its blade."

"Wufei?"

Arching a brow, the psionisist huffed. "You truly think that I long to tie my mind with that insane brain? Besides, he's my superior in every fashion when it comes to the powers of the mind - it would be like pitting a seasoned warrior against a babe with a wooden sword. And with his marvelous control, he'd be able to direct my actions if I tried to physically attack him if he so desired, making me naught but his tool. I can not fight him."

Trowa stared. 'There's no way to stop him. Waterdeep is going to fall.'

'And when he comes to his senses, he's going to hate himself for it.'

'I've got to keep that from happening. He'll... he'll...'

'I've got to save him from himself!'

Trowa watched as the Angel burst free from the restraints of gravity, giant white wings flapping with huge downward swipes, flashes of gray from the polluting color that laced their spans visible to even human eyes. Arrows flew from the towers and streets below, but were easily deflected by the swirling winds created by the massive wings. With another laugh, Quatre dove. Dust exploded into the air with fire and smoke swiftly following.

The nimble acrobat burst into a run, making his way as swiftly towards the crumbling East Gate as he could.

'I've got to stop you. Sorry, but I've got to save you. Because...'

'Because I love you.'

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

"No! Gods, please stop!" Leaning over the battlements, Vincent VonWinner stared with horrified tears in his eyes as his former prisoner ravaged the city he called home.

**Are you enjoying this?** the Solar's voice cackled in the depths of his mind, **The death and destruction? The chaos and misery? The knowledge that everyone here will know that it was your doing that I am here destroying their lives?**

"Stop. Please! Stop!"

**NEVER!**

Lord VonWinner screamed as the Celestial being spread his wings and drew his weapon through the hot, howling air in a bright silvery arc of light to cleanly cleave the head off the body of a small human child that was toddling by before silencing the screaming mother with a burst of /Burning Hands/.

The wizened mage sobbed as her ashes flew on the fire-driven breeze.

**Be thankful that I am merciful enough to slay them quickly. Be thankful that I am not so heartless as to make them suffer as I have.**

Biting back his retort, Lord VonWinner blinked away the tears that plagued him as he brought his hands forward, fingers spread. "/Death Fog/" he shouted, snarling as the last of the sickly green cloud erupted from his fingertips. The huge cloud of gas crawled over the Solar, engulfing him completely.

Lord VonWinner stared as it faded as quickly as he'd formed it.

**Ahem. /Dispell Magic/. Must love that spell, neh?**

"Damn..."

**Now, let me show you how /Death Fog/ is truly supposed to work!**

The elderly mage fell to his knees, covering his face with his hands as that green cloud appeared again, larger and thicker than before, growing to bury the entire city in its deadly fumes.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Quatre smiled as he heard screams and gagging flow from his surroundings as the /Death Fog/ cloud settled into place.

'They deserve this. Every last one of them. Every last human on this world deserves this for the misery they have caused me.'

Tears tricked from his eyes, even as his grin remained in place.

'We are superior. We are immortal. We are blessed with power beyond reckoning. We have no use for these mortal idiots. Especially not mortal idiots who don't answer cries for help, who turn their backs on the desperate innocents who need their caring. Especially not mortal idiots who would congratulate a man for imprisoning another creature that would have done him no harm provided he'd just let that creature go home. Especially not mortal idiots who'd imprison another being to study it and prod at it. Especially not those who'd just turn away, not those who offer to help with the experiments, not those who want its imprisonment to continue so they can benefit from the atrocities of those experiments as well!'

'I have no use for them! They all deserve death!'

'We don't need peace. We don't need coexistence.'

'What we need...'

'To destroy them all...'

'What we need is a WAR!'

'I'll destroy them. I'll destroy them ALL!'

'Except those four.'

He blinked, letting his /Death Fog/ spell finally fall. Staring at his eerily silent surroundings, his smile fading, he ignored the wet trails that coursed down his cheeks.

'Because, despite everything I did to them, they were kind. They helped me when I needed help. They kept me company when I was alone. They cared when I didn't...'

'Especially him.'

Quatre stiffened as he heard footsteps rapidly approaching him. Eyes instantly hard, he cracked his knuckles. Spreading his fingers, he held his hand aloft, smirking as golden light emanated from it.

'Heh. Guard's coming to attack me, eh? Thinks he's going to have the opportunity to attack me from behind?'

Turning sharply, crying the keyword for the divine magical spell he was calling into being as he pivoted, Quatre unleashed /Holy Strike/ even as he laid eyes upon his would-be 'attacker.'

And he screamed.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

The trio watched the glistening orb calmly, fully witness to the destruction taking place.

"I'm quite surprised that neither of you are attempting to stop this," the hooded golden-eyed observer stated, his tenor voice flowing from the shadows that obscured his face.

Elminster quietly chuckled. "Neither of us are idiotic enough to face an enraged Solar. Only you are foolhardy enough to attempt such."

"Oh really?"

The other older man sporting a gristly black beard and dark, critical eyes nodded. "Yes. As my name is Blackstaff, I do proclaim such to be true."

"Hmph," the cloaked and hooded being grunted. "But don't you two care about all of the innocent people that are being slaughtered?"

"It is an unfortunate loss. However, it is one that was destined to happen," Elminster said quietly. "History has been leading to this."

"Waterdeep has assumed too much power," Blackstaff said, "and thereby sealed its fate. Power and corruption are all that city is in spirit these days."

"It is no longer our City of Splendors. That marvel fell long ago," Elminster clarified.

"Besides, the Solar will not slay everyone," Blackstaff said. "You'll note that his attacks are slowing."

"And you'll note that his lover is going to get himself murdered."

"What!" both older men yelped, leaning forward to peer into the orb's depths.

The hooded man nodded. "Heh. 'So long, Waterdeep.' Fuck that. More like 'So long, Faerun.' Without the promise of having that boy..."

"He'll delve further into insanity," Elminster whispered.

"The entire Realms could be doomed," Blackstaff grunted.

Rising from his seat, the cloaked man snorted. "Meaning he's got to be stopped."

Laying his wrinkled hand upon the hooded being's sleeve, Elminster cocked a bushy white eyebrow. "However, lad, slaying him could make the situation worse than it already is."

"Eh?"

"Solars are-"

"Shit. Communal." Bowing his head, the cloaked man snorted. "Meaning that slaying one rends the barriers that hold them the hell out of our Realms and lets them bring their full numbers upon us, all ready and willing for vengeance."

"Yes."

Shoving back his hood the half-drow turned to Elminster, black bangs settling over one golden eye. "So what do you suggest?"

Elminster bowed his head.

And arching a brow Blackstaff muttered, "It all rests on that boy, doesn't it?"

"Aa."

"Rescue him and we rescue the Realms."

They cringed as they heard the Solar's heart-wrenching scream.

"Too late."

Blackstaff grunted. "Do not doubt, Shard. It is never too late."

"What do you mean?"

"It is never too late to save the soul."

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Quatre fell to his knees, staring straight ahead, tears pouring from his eyes as his shaking hands gripped his shoulders. Wings folding over him, enveloping him in their bloodstained gray-tinged white feathers, he sobbed. "Trowa...!"

The Solar didn't move as the crunch of boots stepping upon gravel approached him.

"Quatre."

Lifting his gaze, lifting a dusty, bloodied hand to wipe the tears from his eyes and thus unintentionally staining his face with smears of brown dirt and crimson vitae, the Angel stared. "Blackstaff..."

Nodding, the mage walked to the focal point of the Celestial's last spell. Glancing down, his heart nearly stopping as the grisly sight before him registered, he grimaced. "What have you done?"

"I... didn't mean..." the Solar desperately began, tears beginning to flow anew.

"You realize why this happened."

Quatre bowed his head.

He blinked as he heard the legendary mage murmur under his breath and felt the twisting of the Weave that supplied all magic surround them both.

A pale flash of white, stained by rays of blood red illumination, burst into being before Blackstaff's feet. "Come here, Quatre," he soothingly called.

Quatre slowly crawled over, eyes closed and wings limply laying in the dirt to his sides.

"Open your eyes."

"No."

"Why not, Angel?"

"I don't want to see..."

"The body is gone, Quatre."

Aquamarine eyes slowly opened. Gasping, Quatre stared.

Where Trowa Barton's mangled, lifeless body had been but moments before rested a clear, pure crystal orb who's center held a blood-red rose in full bloom who's dark green stem, sharp thorns and delicate leaves twisted and swirled behind it.

"What... what did you do...?"

Blackstaff smiled, resting a hand upon the beaten Angel's shoulder. "That orb contains Trowa's soul."

"The rose...?"

"Yes. The very embodiment of his spirit."

"But... why? Why did you do this?"

The mage closed his eyes. "To halt the fall of nobility."

Quatre stared.

---)))000(((---)))000(((---)))000(((---

Lord Vincent VonWinner stared as well.

He held perfectly still as he felt the razor sharp edge of a weapon rest upon the back of his neck, its feather-light touch already raising a bubbling rush of blood to run down his skin, tracing along his spine underneath his clothing and staining the delicate silks he wore bright red.

"Who...?" he whispered.

"Rise," the being behind him ordered.

Doing as told, the elderly mage got to his feet, then turned around. He screamed.

Smirking, framed by the barest red light that flowed from the West skies and the sun which had finished sliding into the ocean, the half- drow chuckled and let his grin broaden to display the viciously elongated fangs that marked him to be of the ranks of the undead.

Lord VonWinner stood completely frozen with fright as the vampire with golden eyes stepped forward. "You... you're...!"

"Erik Shard."

"Assa...ssin..."

"Yep."

"But...!"

His fanged smile turning a touch more demented, the half-drow calmly ran his fingers through his black hair. "Worry not, old man. I've been instructed to spare your pathetic life. No feed for the hungry tonight."

"Then..."

"I'm just here to fetch you. There're some high-ups in Mystra's clergy who'd really love to have a talk with you."

Vincent gulped.

"And once they're done with you..."

Standing perfectly still, the mage dared not breathe as the dark-elven vampire lightly caressed his cheek with deathly cold lips, fangs delicately scraping blood-drained flesh and raising angry welts with their passing.

"You're mine."

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"Through this action, you have tarnished yourself. While your reasons are sound and your rage justified, your focus has been completely lost and thus the direction of your anger miscalculated. We know he captured you. We know he held you against your will. We know he tested you, experimented on you, tortured you. We recognize that, against him, your bitterness and desire to slaughter are justified completely. Even one of your kind, of your extraordinary attributes, can be expected to feel this way. Any being, no matter how great or insignificant, would feel the same."

Closing his eyes, Blackstaff sighed.

"However, you blamed all of humanity for the wrongs of one man. And with such, not only have you cast yourself into the same mold as us judgmental mortals, you have made yourself less than even us insignificant humans."

"You have done nothing but learn to hate."

"Trowa was beginning to change that, but your hatred has brought that to an end."

Fighting back tears, Quatre stared at the orb. "What would you have me do?"

"Become yourself."

Quatre looked at him questioningly.

"Solars, while servants of the true Gods, are also the love of the Gods. They do not personify simply their wrath, but also represent their caring. You, being the tender soul that you are, are no vessel of hate or rage. You are one of love. You are one whose appearance brings peace and happiness. Rediscover yourself. Come, once more, to love humanity as you did eons ago. Become the servant of both mortal and God as you were when you were first created."

"Why...?"

"Because then you can regain your happiness."

Bowing his head, shoulders shaking, Quatre shook his head.

"You doubt?"

"Yes."

"Because?"

"I loved."

"And your heart is his, and his alone?"

"And he is dead."

"He can return."

Quatre stared.

Blackstaff smirked. "Become humble once more. Become a servant of mortality once again. Then and only then will you be given the secret of that crystal orb. Then and only then will you find the one mortal who will be able to shatter my spell."

Turning his gaze to the orb, Quatre whispered, "There's hope...?"

"Yes. Your divine magic will never shatter it, but that of a mortal will set him free. Whether or not you will make that boy's life a reality once again is something I leave entirely up to you."

With a slow nod, Quatre tenuously reached for the orb. Laying his hands upon it, he smiled through his tears as he felt warmth flow from its center. And, gathering it into his arms, he clutched it in a tight embrace.

Hot tears splashed against its smooth surface as the human mage vanished.

"Trowa..."

_to be concluded..._


	28. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I in no way own Gundam W or AD&D. Don't sue; I'm simply an E5 in the USN, therefore I have no money. Ha.

A/N; /magical spell/

_-BEGIN FIC-_

"And so, with his arms wrapped tightly around the crystalline orb, the Solar spread his magnificent wings. Light flowed along the edges of the soft, huge feathers, slowly spreading to encompass his body, surrounding and engulfing him in its white radiance.

Duo, Heero and Wufei watched from the top of the rubble that was once the East Gate of Waterdeep, each with sorrow and regret in their eyes and hearts.

"Quatre...?" Duo whispered as tears began to flow from his violet eyes, brought forth by the stinging brightness of the Solar's pure magical aura as much as by the fear and pain that gripped his heart.

The light-coated form turned his head towards the three companions. Opening his eyes, the startlingly deep aquamarine coloration shining with tears of their own, the Celestial sighed, "Farewell."

"What about Trowa?" the raven-haired warrior quietly asked, gesturing to the blood-red form within the crystal sphere the Angel clutched protectively. "You aren't intending to leave him like this, are you?"

"No," Quatre said.

"Then-" Wufei began.

"I can't break Blackstaff's spell," interrupted Quatre.

The three adventurers stared as the Angel's shoulders shook.

The single tear that fell from his face sparkled in the magical light that enfolded him.

"But I won't give up. Someone, somewhere, whether here or back home, can free him... can undo the sin I've committed against him. Someone can give him back his life. And I intend to find that person, even if it takes me the rest of eternity to do so... even if it kills me," he said.

He tightened his grip upon the orb.

"I'm going to because he's done what is supposed to be impossible. He wrenched mortal emotion from the spirit of a Celestial, turning its loyalties away from its Creator and Master to those who are supposed to serve and worship it."

"He accomplished what no one ever could..."

"He taught me to love," Quatre whispered, a small smile appearing on his lips.

Duo rapidly blinked his eyes, his vision slowly returning to him after the blinding flash of white radiance that had emanated from Quatre's frame had engulfed Waterdeep's smoldering remains. Heero stared, his emotion-ridden face indescribably animate as he gazed at the crater where the Solar had stood but moments before. Wufei stood completely motionless, his eyes closed, head bowed, face somber, resolve keeping his emotions tightly in check.

Reaching out with shaking fingers, Wufei slowly opened his jet-black eyes. And, as the sparkling white feather tinged with the slightest hints of gray being blown carelessly by the wind caressed those fingers and enticed them to catch it, he found that even his legendary resolve couldn't keep his tears at bay.

All three simply stared, jaws slack and eyes wide, as the pure, white and gray soft cloud of feathers raced from the heavens to swirl around them before slowly settling upon the ground and vanishing.

Only the one feather that the raven-haired man had caught remained."

Clearing his throat, the wizened elf let the orb of magic that had been playing out his tale vanish. Reaching into his tunic, he tugged a single chain free from the multitudes that surrounded his thin neck. And, smiling as he ran his finger over the one gray-tinged white feather that dangled from the necklace's chain, he nodded. "It is magical, boy. It brings great luck to its wearer."

The small boy heard nothing. Already fast asleep, he snored calmly in his bed.

Arching a brow, the elf laughed. "Well now. Looks as if I'll have to repeat this tale another night, eh? Maybe then you'll remain awake long enough to hear about how I met Mr. Chang and why he passed this precious feather on to me before death claimed him."

Wandering out of the boy's room, the old elf made his way down the grand house's stairwell into the dark cell he used as his laboratory. Snapping his fingers, the room sprang to life at his call - /Faerie Fire/ raced along the walls, lighting the chamber and the multitudes of tomes, scrolls, beakers, wands and jars that were within even as a conjured /Wall of Iron/ spell enacted, blocking off the chamber's entrance.

Hobbling slowly across the room, he sat himself at the largest of the three tables the room contained and laid his fingers upon the huge tome that rested there.

The crystal orb in the stand that dominated the desk's center flickered, white light pulsing from within. The tenuous rays danced over the object within its center, drawing the old man's eyes to it.

"Welcome back," he quietly said, glancing over his shoulder.

"Thank you."

"Would you care to take a seat, old friend?"

The light, beautiful tenor voice that flowed from behind the elf sighed softly. "No thank you. I don't intend to stay long. I just wanted to know..."

Smiling, the old elf nodded. "It's progressing well."

"I'm sorry to trouble you like this."

"Think nothing of it. Even if this did not require Elven High Magic, I'd still be willing to help. Do not think that I do this only because I am the only one who can. I do this because you are my friend."

"... Thank you."

A brief interlude of silence fell upon the elf and his guest.

Slowly emerging from the shadows, the elf's companion laid a hand upon the crystal orb upon the mage's desk, sighing as radiant white light bathed the crimson rose that laid entombed in its depths.

"Just twelve more years..."

"Yes," the elf said with a nod. "Twelve more years, and that cloned body will be ready for his soul."

"And he's...?"

"Snoring happily in his bed." A wry grin took the elf's lips as he gazed upon his guest's face. "He fell asleep in the middle of his own history."

Nodding, the form straightened his posture, slowly swinging his huge white wings back. Smiling at the elf, he nodded. "I'll come back soon enough, alright? I... it makes me sad to see him like this."

"I understand."

Closing his eyes, he turned his face back towards the crystal orb.

The elf resumed his studies of his tome. "In twelve years, then."

"Make it two. I can't stay away that long, no matter how much it hurts."

Smiling, the wizened elf nodded. "Two. I'll look forward to it. And promise me that you'll stay longer than fifteen minutes then."

A soft laugh filled the room. "Alright."

"Farewell, then, Quatre."

After granting the elf a curt nod, he lightly ran his hand over the orb. And, with a soft smile, he laid a tender kiss upon its smooth surface.

"Two years, dearest Trowa."

"I love you."

_-owari-_


End file.
